Bonds Unlocked
by readerdreamer5625
Summary: All I wished was something to help me save Iruka-sensei. Next moment I'm falling down into this trial with a mysterious voice, winning a strange weapon that's literally a key to everything! Oh well, at least I've got something to bat Mizuki's face in. NarutoxKingdomHearts Crossover. Rated T just in case. Edit finished!
1. Key

**AN: Hello Everyone! Welcome to my first fic, Bonds Unlocked!**

**Things you should know, this crossover is predominantly Naruto-verse, only taking the elements of the Keyblade in a Persona-esque way (Shin Megami Tensei games, play it!).** **The only reason this fic isn't in the crossover section is that essentially all I added was the Keyblade and nothing else.**

**Now then, let's begin the first chapter.**

**This chapter has been rewritten for the sake of those who complained that Naruto was getting too OOC too fast.**

**Chapter 1: Key**

* * *

**I.**

Splotches of blood came upon a sun-kissed blond whiskered 12-year old as his almost-foster brother blocked the path of a large shuriken with his own body. With widening eyes, he crawled over him, wishing for a way to somehow make the bleeding stop.

"I-Iruka-sensei! Why!?" He cried.

"Be-because Naruto, I understand you. You are not the monster people claim you to be, nor you are the monster that was the death of my parents. No, Naruto, you are my most unpredictable knucklehead of a student who I know to only wish for the acceptance of others. And I won't let Mizuki harm you." The scarred teacher replied, even while choking on his own blood.

"Hahaha, Iruka! How you have fallen for that demon's lies! That brat is no student, he is a mere freak of nature! And if it even means killing you alongside that brat, I'll end its days!" Jeered the person who threw the shuriken. The same person why they were in this situation in the first place. Mizuki, Iruka's former childhood friend and the one who tricked Naruto into stealing the Forbidden Scroll.

With a charge of chakra, Mizuki threw the windmill shuriken, speeding it up until it was nothing but a buzzsaw of death aiming for the teacher and his student.

'Will something, something please help me!' Naruto thought.

'**Then pass the trial.'**

Before he knew it, he was falling, falling in a splash of black. After yelling on the top of his lungs, his life flashed across his eyes. Was he going to die?

Disoriented after falling for what seemed an eternity, he fell face-first into a glass platform adorned with images of a two boys, one a brunette and the other silver, a young girl whose eyes were looking into a far-off land beyond the sunset, a smiling anthromorphic duck in a blue robe right alongside a grinning anthromorphic dog carrying a shield adorned with a mouse symbol.

Rubbing his sore face, he stood up and looked around, awed by the location, and seeing three floating objects that gave an aura of power. One, a sword, the second, a shield, and the last, what can only be called a staff. Only then did he remember his situation.

"Wha- wait! Where am I? Where's Iruka-sensei!? Where's Mizuki-teme!?"

'**You, the one of heart, called yourself upon here, seeking for power, not for your own, but for others. You will now face a trial, to test you, to check whether you are truly worthy of what you seek.'**

"Bu-but, how about Iruka-sensei!?"

'**Don't worry for him now, for this space is separate from yours. Time wouldn't pass there, and will stay so until you finish the trial. Now then, make a choice!'**

The sword raised itself higher, glinting with light from some unknown source.

'**Would you choose the path of strength, the warrior who seeks out his enemies, those who wish harm upon him or his loved ones, and defeat his foes?'**

The sword went back to its original position, and the shield raised up, moving as if blocking from some enemy.

'**Would you choose the path of defense, the guardian who protects himself and his loved ones from harm?'**

The shield also went down, and this time the staff raised up, encased in light.

'**Would you choose the path of wisdom, the mystic who creates miracles of help and preservation, ruin and destruction?'**

'**This is the first test. Make your choice.'**

Scratching his head, Naruto walked towards the three objects.

"I don't have the time to just sit here!"

'**Don't you wish to save your teacher?**'

Naruto flinched. The voice had an underlying warning tone in it. Calming himself down, he grit his teeth in anger.

"What do you mean? That if I choose one of these things, I can save Iruka-sensei?"

'**Wasn't that supposed to be the point?**' There was now amusement in its tone. '**Now, choose.**'

Properly calmed down, Naruto sat down to his feet, making a thinking pose. After a few minutes, he stood up.

Walking up to the sword quietly, he picked it up with his right hand. Immediately, power welled up his body and his veins, deep into his blood.

'**Is that your choice?'**

Naruto didn't answer, and walked up to the shield and also picked it up, placing it on his back. This time, his body felt stronger, tougher, than ever before. The voice didn't speak. He then went up to the staff and picked it up with his left hand. His body then felt even more powerful, energy even more ancient than chakra but very similar went through his entire body-no, his soul.

'**I see. You don't wish to keep on a single path.**' Amusement was evident in the voice. '**Nevertheless, pray tell, why did you make such a choice?**'

Naruto answered, "Jiji once told me, 'A shinobi does not look for war nor prepares for it."

He put his arms behind his head, weapons still in his hand, still smiling. As if talking to the voice, he shouted.

"And I want to become the greatest shinobi of all!"

'**Then so be it.'**

The floor Naruto was standing only suddenly cracked, opening underneath his feet. Feeling again the falling sensation, Naruto flailed, but kept a tight grip on the things he obtained. He then saw another glass platform coming ahead, this time showing a scene of a blonde man on a large toad fighting of a giant orange nine-tailed fox. The man was clothed with a flashy white cloak adorned with designs of red and orange fire. The toad was wearing a blue hakama with the kanji of 'Toad Boss' on his back.

'That's the Kyuubi!,' Naruto thought, looking to the blond man. 'Then is that the Yondaime?'

He then noticed several faces placed in the cardinal directions of the platform. At the north was what you would call the personification of death: white hair, ghoulish eyes, pale skin, and teeth biting into a knife. At the west was the Yondaime: blond spiky hair and cerulean eyes much akin to his own. At the east was a woman: red beautiful hair on a sleeping face, but her expression was of stress, he could see sweat even on her nape. And lastly, at the south was a masked man; mask of an orange swirl coiling into the right eye, which was red and had 3 tomoes in it.

Realizing that if things went on, he'd have a repeat of the earlier painful landing, he quickly twisted his body to land on his feet. A back flip, left hand holding the staff at his back to ensure the shield didn't fall, right hand holding the sword above his shoulder, just in case of an attack.

'**This is the second test. Prepare yourself.'**

A pool of darkness swam in front of him, forming a shape in his own likeness, with eyes as red as rubies. The **doppelganger** waved his hand, and a fox came upon his feet, also made of the same pitch-black darkness pooling around his feet.

'**He is you, your own darkness. The pain and the suffering, the sadness and the loneliness, and the symbol of your curse. Only when you defeat him would you be able to succeed in your wish.'**

The **doppelganger** and his fox, which Naruto also realized had the same eyes, gazed at him, and opened their mouths to release a throaty, yet cold and menacing, voice.

"You and your pipedreams. Why do you fight for something you'll never receive?" The **doppelganger** asked. "Wouldn't it be better to just fight for yourself? To take revenge against those who did you wrong?"

The **doppelganger** snarled and went into action, pulling out a kunai made out of darkness and ran towards Naruto. His fox also jumped, opened its mouth and released a dark fireball towards Naruto. Naruto dodged the missile, and ran to the fox, slashing his sword down. The fox dodged, but Naruto managed to hit it in the side with the hilt.

The **doppelganger** then threw his kunai towards Naruto, who, pulled by an unknown instinct, waved the staff and pointed it at the projectile, channeling chakra into it. A beam of light burst out of the staff and disintegrated the kunai and hitting the **doppelganger** with a sound comparable to the dropping of a pin.

The **doppelganger** was knocked back, where it released howls of pain, causing Naruto to flinch. It then formed a ram seal, using a jutsu Naruto learned himself just earlier.

It asked, "Why try so hard for those who did us wrong!?"

Dozens of copies of his **doppelganger** ran towards him, each taking out 8 shuriken. They then threw the shuriken at him, some directly towards him, some to ensure that he didn't escape.

"**Yami Shihou Happou Shuriken! (Dark All-Direction Shuriken)"**

The shield on Naruto's back glowed and drew chakra from Naruto, forming a spherical shield of light around Naruto, protecting him from the shuriken. All of the shuriken then exploded in a small sphere of black light, but to no avail. Nothing broke the shield.

"Damn those tools of light," the **doppelganger **cried, "Just die already!"

Naruto had enough. He channeled in the sword. The sword glowed in golden light. He channeled even more, turning the light from shining to blinding. He raised it up his shoulder and ran towards the **doppelganger**, taking it down in a diagonal slash.

A name formed on his lips. Before he knew it, he was already shouting:

"**Zantetsuken!**"

The fox ran in front of its master, performing a last ditch gambit of a shield of darkness, but to no avail. Naruto's slash went through, continuing to hit the fox and its master. The fox dissolved into nothing, and the **doppelganger** flew back, landing in a shaking heap.

Only after a while did Naruto realize that it was crying. Right next to the **doppelganger**, the fox formed again, this time wounded and dying.

"Why forgive them when they caused you so much pain!?"

Dropping the sword and the staff, Naruto walked to the **doppelganger**, who flinched and crawled away. Naruto, seeing this, told it, "Wait!"

Memories passed in his mind. They were still recent, memories of the previous year. Times of loneliness, sitting there alone, crying in the swing. Teased for reasons he never knew. Separate from those around him without explanation.

And with that, he understood the being in front of him.

"You are me, aren't you? The me who took on my hate for those who hurt me?"

He was never his enemy. He was just lonely.

"Then you should know right? Why I didn't get back at them?"

The **doppelganger** stopped, and went back at staring at Naruto.

It answered, "Because you, no; we understood them. They only feared us, and that we knew for a long time, even when it's just now we know their reason."

Naruto then smiled and said, "Hokage-jiji told me that fear makes people do stupid things. Then, if Jiji forgives us for the stupid things we do, then I should do so. Even more so, now that Iruka-sensei has accepted me for who I am."

The **doppelganger** laughed and grinned, reminiscent of the original, and slowly flaked away, red eyes turning into cerulean blue. The fox suddenly glowed, making a spontaneous recovery, the darkness turning into gold, and gave a foxy grin, now orange eyes filled with mischief.

Only when the **doppelganger** looked the same as Naruto did it speak again, but this time it's identical voice now filled with cheer and contentment. "I guess then we really are as stupid as they come?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

It slowly faded away, and Naruto's vision flashed into light, going back to the same moment when Mizuki threw his windmill shuriken, but time was still.

But before he lost vision, he saw a man smile at him from the distance. He opened his mouth, and with the same voice that led him through this trial, he whispered.

'**Good luck.**'

* * *

**II.**

'**You succeeded at the trial. Now hold out your hand, imagine your will, your heart, materializing in your grip. Think of what you wish, and what you have achieved.'**

Naruto held out his right hand and thought, 'I understand now. I now understand what Iruka-sensei and Jiji said.' He then raised it above his shoulders, imagining something that came from his heart, and into his grip. He yelled, "**Fading Scars!**"

Time continued. Naruto jumped in front of the buzzsaw, and with a slash of the now-materializing object in his hand, deflected the projectile back to Mizuki.

"Mizuki-teme! I won't let you hurt Iruka-sensei!"

The projectile, now twice as fast, flew towards Mizuki, who was then knocked away several dozen meters back into the forest glade by the shuriken. Only then after that instant did Iruka realize what Naruto had done and did he only have the chance the gaze upon the object in Naruto's grip.

It was an odd thing, with a circular hilt made out of bronze and a flat rectangular 'blade' made of silver, with a red spiky swirl at the tip, edges sharp. There was a chain tied to the hilt, ending with a book ornament, its pages turning in the wind.

"Na-Naruto! What is that!?" He questioned.

"I don't really know what it is," Naruto answered, placing the weapon in front of himself, preparing for Mizuki's counter, "But I know it CAN help me defeat Mizuki-teme!"

Crazed laughter came from where Mizuki flew, and out of the shadows, Mizuki came out, windmill shuriken embedded deep into his shoulder, blood spilling from his wound. He screamed,

"REALLY!? THE MONSTER THINKS HE CAN FIGHT BACK WITH A STICK! EVEN IF YOU HAVE THAT ABSURD WEAPON OF YOURS, NO BRAT OR IDIOTIC CHUUNIN LIKE IRUKA CAN DEFEAT ME!"

Iruka paled, already doubting Naruto's ability in saving them from the situation, and ordered Naruto.

"Naruto! R-run! Leave me here! A-at least I can hold him back! You can't defeat Mizuki!"

Mizuki laughed again and further jeered, "Ahahahaha! Look Naruto! Your dear _Iruka-sensei_ recognizes the fact that you are useless! A weakling monster, all thanks to our beloved Yondaime! What can a brat that can't even create a single bunshin do?"

Naruto suddenly stilled, and the air around him went cold. His eyes, which lowered to the ground after Iruka's order suddenly glared at Mizuki, his normally cheerful cerulean turning into a frigid indigo. Chakra started to build up, even creating a blue veil around the boy and causing his **Fading Scars** to glow a bright gold.

"Mizuki-teme… I may be weak, I may be idiotic, but **nobody** belittles Iruka-sensei. I'm weak, I know, but let's see how you last against a thousand of me!" He formed a ram seal, "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

The adults' eyes bulged out as hundreds, no; a thousand of blond boys wearing orange jumpsuits appeared, each wielding their own blade. Mizuki started to pale while Iruka's eyebrows went up in his sheer amazement at Naruto's jutsu.

"Get him!" "Prepare to go down!" "Let's see how much beatings you can get!"

"**Right, Mizuki-teme?!**" They chorused.

* * *

**III.**

A short while after that, after numerous beatings, dispels, screams, and sheer chaos, a beaten up Mizuki was at Naruto's feet to the sheer amazement of one Umino Iruka. Only now remembering Iruka's state, Naruto started pacing around, looking for first aid in Iruka's pouch, and basically hovered around Iruka, to the injured man's equal thanks and chagrin.

"I-Iruka-sensei! Wa-wait, where's that damn first aid kit!"

"Naruto, calm down. There's no first aid kit there. Let's simply head back to town."

"No, Iruka-sensei! You shouldn't move just yet! You may ag-gra-gra-grava-"

"Aggravate, Naruto?"

"Yeah! That! You'll aggravate your wounds!"

Iruka only watched in amazement as Naruto summoned that weapon of his in his panic before calming down and closing his eyes. Iruka turned his head in confusion before being surprised by Naruto's sudden advancement towards him, the **Fading Scars** pointed. His eyes were closed in concentration before uttering a single word.

"**Cure!**"

Green light with a sensation much akin to healing chakra shot out of the weapon towards Iruka, basking him in green light before fading away, leaving him fully healed. Iruka, who had thought that there was **nothing** more today that could surprise him, could only gape at the action.

"Naruto! What was that!?"

Now eyes open and back to that cheeky expression he usually wore, Naruto only smiled and replied, "I don't know really! I just had a feeling I should do that!"

Shaking his head, Iruka only stood up and brushed himself, walking towards Naruto.

"Only you would gain something as incredible as that, and at the same night learning **Kage Bunshin**. Naruto, you really are one hell of an unpredictable student."

"But you know what, Naruto? _**I'm proud of you.**_"

Naruto smiled back (much softer and more real this time, Iruka realized,) and hugged Iruka. Only after a few minutes of silence did Iruka notice that Naruto was crying on his chuunin vest. He gently pushed Naruto away and said softly,

"Naruto, close your eyes."

Naruto obeyed and stopped crying. But Iruka could observe that Naruto's posture was much lighter, like a ton-worth of weight was off his shoulders. Naruto could only feel cloth being put on his forehead, tied behind his head. Already realizing what Iruka gave, Naruto grinned.

"Naruto, you are now a genin of Konoha."

Naruto once again felt tears coming into his eyes, and went back to hugging his dear sensei, who returned the gesture. After a few minutes of silence from Iruka and sniffling from Naruto's part, they heard somebody standing up again while having difficulties breathing. Mizuki, who was now awake, and somehow forgotten the earlier beatdown from Naruto, once again yelled,

"Iruka, you monster-loving idiot! That brat shouldn't be made genin! He should be-"

Dead silence.

Iruka could only stare as he saw Mizuki stabbed through the chest with Naruto's **Fading Scars** from the back, and Mizuki could only choke and shiver as an ice-cold voice resounded in his ears.

"_Nobody calls Iruka-sensei an idiot._"

Mizuki fell down, weapon still impaled in him, choking out, "Y-you monster…"

Eyes still as cold as ice, Naruto only gazed down at Mizuki. The impaled weapon disappeared in a burst of light, and to the again upraised brows of Iruka, upon further inspection, there was no wound after Mizuki's supposed impalement.

Naruto, now calming down, could only stare until like something snapped, his eyes blinked. For some reason, Iruka observed, there was now something under Naruto's disgust. He'll ask later, he supposed; it's time to get back to town.

To his confusion, after fifteen minutes of carrying Mizuki towards the Hokage's Tower, Iruka heard Naruto mutter, "No, Mizuki. You are the monster."

Little did they know that the Hokage had already seen what had happened using his crystal ball, nor did they know that the Hokage was already tapping his fingers on the desk, his normal patience almost gone due to the man's anticipation for the coming talk.

* * *

**IV.**

The tension could be cut by a knife. The silence was difficult to endure. Yet nobody was starting the conversation.

Uzumaki Naruto could only look at his feet while his Jiji, the Sandaime, was studying him after Iruka's brief but detailed report of the incident. When Naruto couldn't stand it anymore, he rose his head only to be cut off by the searching gaze of his grandfather figure.

He could only fidget nervously while he asked the old man his innermost doubt.

"Jiji, am I really a monster?"

The old man's face was impassive, but inwardly he was regretting his own mistakes. _If only._ But he mustn't show it now. He must assure the child, to ensure that he wouldn't gain any sort of self-disgust from his own sacrifice for the village.

Faking a chuckle and putting on a front of righteous anger against his own men easily.

"No, Naruto." He answered firmly. With a small smile to comfort the child, he told him, "You aren't the Kyuubi but its jailor. You are the unsung hero, treated far different from what the Yondaime wished. See here, Naruto." The old man pulled out a sealing scroll and a brush. "Imagine this brush is the Kyuubi and you are this scroll. If I seal the brush away in this scroll, would that make the scroll fundamentally a brush? No. You are separate from the Kyuubi."

He again sighed inwardly when he saw Naruto very much visibly more relaxed now. '_Minato, we have failed you,'_ he thought.

"And how about this weapon I got? Is it related to that fuzzball?"

With a slight chuckle at the slight towards to the Kyuubi, he shook his head.

"No, Naruto. Something tells me that weapon of yours is far different from the Kyuubi. If that is what I think it is, then that **Faded Scars** of yours would be a Keyblade."

Iruka took this moment to cut in. "Hokage-sama, may I ask, what **is **a Keyblade?"

The old man took a moment to collect his thoughts before replying,

"It is a weapon mentioned in a prophecy told by the Sage of the Six Paths himself."

Iruka's eyes bulged out while Naruto only became more confused.

"Jiji, who is the Sage of the Six Paths?"

The old man smiled, and went to his aura which gave him the name of 'The Professor'.

"Naruto, the Sage of the Six Paths is the founder of ninjutsu itself, told to be the most powerful man to ever exist. Now, Naruto, if memory serves me right, the prophecy regarding the Keyblade tells of a boy who arrived during his time, carrying a weapon named the Keyblade. It is said that in the face of the KeyBearer, no lie, no lock, nor no secret can be hidden. It is also said that the former KeyBearer went around the world, defeating evil and darkness in his path before he left this world for another adventure."

"Now, Naruto, it is also foretold that the Keyblade will return to this world when the world needs the KeyBearer. It is said, word for word, _'Hearts and bonds form the power of the KeyBearer, but should he fall to darkness, all hope for peace is lost. Each key formed has its own power, and should the Bearer understand, he would succeed.'_ Now, do you realize what this means?"

Naruto nodded. "I can, just a bit. "

Naruto then told the Sandaime and Iruka his experience during the _trial_. Hiruzen nodded at some points, sometimes asking for further details, especially of his fight against himself. There was some points, Naruto noticed, that the old man's eyes were tinged with regret, but when he mentioned the masked man, there was an moment of confusion before a sudden realization, only to go back to the old man's usual stoicism.

"And, and then, I then found something cool about the Keyblade!"

"Is it that **Cure** of yours you used to heal Iruka?"

Naruto shook his head.

"No, **Cure** is something I don't really know just yet..." He rubbed the back of his head embarrassed. "What I meant is something else!"

"What do you mean?"

"I can now enter minds!"

Needless to say, the two adults were shocked. Hiruzen recovered first before signalling Naruto to explain.

"By stabbing Mizuki, I saw what Mizuki did in the past. His lies, his betrayal..."

Hiruzen was shocked. This sort of ability would do nicely in the T&I Department of the village. After a moment's thought, he shook his head. No, he can't use Naruto like that. Yamanaka Inoichi, a grown man, broke down due to his job of doing the same thing. No, not Naruto. If not for his innocence, for him to not fall to the darkness.

"And there was a man behind him. All I saw was a gaze and a name. Orochimaru."

Further silence.

"Naruto, I guess it's time for you to rest. Due to your help in this, I'll file it as your first unofficial mission. B-rank, for capturing and interrogating a traitor of Konoha." He took sufficient ryo from the village treasury. "Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto, for your faithful service for this village."

"Don't worry about it, Jiji. I promised you right? I'll become Hokage after you _dattebayo_!"

As Naruto walked towards the door, he suddenly stopped, to the confusion of the Hokage.

"Jiji, next time I visit can I ask something? I won't ask it now, I'm sure you're tired. So, next time?"

"Sure, Naruto." The old man said in agreement.

When Naruto who was now reached the door, Hiruzen called out, "Naruto-kun, due to the investigations to do after this incident, the genin team formation will be right after a _week_. Don't be late now, will you?"

"Yeah, Jiji, I promise!"

The boy exited and the door closed. Hiruzen let go of the sigh he didn't know he was holding. Iruka came from his side. "He truly is one surprising kid; Right, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, Iruka-kun. He truly is… Now, will you please call Gekkou Hayate here? I have a mission to give him."

"I see then. Then, I should go now Hokage-sama."

And with that, Iruka left with a Shunshin.

"If only the adults would use the damn door…"

* * *

**AN: Okay! First chapter done!**

**Here are some things you should expect.**

**No world-travelling, no Heartless, no Nobodies, no Organization or whatsoever.**

**This fic only uses the concept of the Keyblade with my own twist. Only several minor references would be made about the actual KH characters, or perhaps a short cameo of Sora.**

**The Keyblade here has different rules about size, use, number, abilities, and magic than compared to the original concept. The **_**abilities**_**of the Keyblade is related to its origin, the person/s where Naruto's bond originated (This is where Shin Megami Tensei elements come in, similar to the Arcanas, but personal.) The **Faded Scars** is an original design of mine, and probably same will go for the other Keyblades. I would use as little as possible canon Keyblades in this fic, though I may base some Keyblades on some animes and other fics. (Wait and see!) **

**Okay, here is the statistics of the **Faded Scars **Keyblade.**

**Faded Scars:**

**Melee Power: Normal**

**Magic Power: Normal**

**Type: Support**

**Affinity: Neutral/Healing**

**Imbued Magic: Cure, Cura, Curaga, Esuna**

**Abilities: Hyper Understanding – This has both a passive and active effect. Passive effect is the increased ability of Naruto to empathize with others. Active effect is the gain of knowledge of one's enemy's reasons and secrets after a successful hit after chakra is channeled to the Keyblade. The amount of information is related to the amount of damage you would neutralize in exchange for the knowledge. I.E. You can't gain an important secret with only a scratch neutralized. It also doesn't have to be injuries caused by the strike that is to be healed, rather you just need to have a successful hit.**

**My Comment: This Keyblade is basically a stepping stone for other Keyblades and can be used for healing those really unlucky characters (*ahem*Haku*ahem*)**


	2. Acquaintances and Teachers PT 1

**AN: Welcome back to my fic, Bonds Unlocked!**

**Huh, there are very few hits here, hmmmm. Should I actually post it on the crossover section? Anyways, let's continue to the next chapter!**

**Edit: Changed several of Naruto's lines and added more scenes.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Teachers and Acquaintances PT 1**

* * *

**V.**

Morning met an old man shaking his head at a child in front of him. Any observer who didn't knew about the two would've mistaken them for grandfather and grandchild, and the kid's shit-eating grin would've made anyone sane shake in fear of a prank while wishing the old man good luck.

The old man sighed, "Naruto, did you really have to take such a… _striking _photo for your id?"

"Of course, Hokage-jiji!"

He sighed again. After all, when people normally say 'make an impression', they don't really mean forcing the photographer to take your photo _mid-swing of your damn weapon_, blunt or not. He still had that headache after the photographer's lament about his broken camera. At least the photo was taken.

One more thing to pay using Minato and Kushina's bank account. If the two saw him right now, Minato would probably be weeping comically on how Naruto was so alike his mother and the said mother would probably be cheering the brat on… Hiruzen could only hope that when Naruto gains access to the account there would still be something left.

"Naruto, I remember that you had a question for me, right?"

The atmosphere suddenly turned serious. Naruto's grin turned into a neutral expression, but Hiruzen knew that he was being hesitant about the matter.

"Jiji, can you promise me to answer honestly?"

Hiruzen was suddenly wary. What would Naruto want to ask to make him act so… nervous? Should he promise to do so? He then decided to agree, trusting that if Naruto was to be trusted with the peace of the Elemental Nations, he could be trusted with whatever he asks for. After all, it wouldn't be about another S-rank secret, right?

Seeing Hiruzen nod, Naruto became more relaxed before tensing again, looking the old man in the eye.

"Is the Yondaime my dad?"

Oh. It **is **about another S-rank secret. Hiruzen's eyes wandered to gaze upon the said Hokage's portrait, observing Naruto do the same. 'I sure hope I'm doing the right thing, Minato.'

"Can you promise me to keep the answer to yourself and to those who already know about it?"

The question was answer enough to Naruto, who froze and went to staring at his feet.

"I promise, Jiji. So he was my dad…"

"Are you mad about it, Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head.

"No… When I had the idea, I became depressed. But after a while, I got thinking."

Shuffling his feet, he continued staring at the floor.

"I-if the Yondaime was my dad, then he would have a good reason to make me a Jinchuuriki."

He raised his head, allowing Hiruzen to see that his eyes were watery.

"A-after all, h-he's the Hokage, right?" He rubbed his eyes. "If that's how it is, then I can't get angry at him."

Naruto took a deep breath before his eyes shone once more with determination.

"Because, I'm going to be Konoha's best Hokage in history, _dattebayo!_"

Hiruzen took a whiff from his pipe, silently thankful that he subtly signaled the ANBUs to leave earlier.

"You are correct, Naruto. Being a Hokage isn't all cool fights and speeches. Sometimes you are forced to make those sort of impossible choices, where you fight yourself for the sake of the village. A question though, what made you realize?"

Naruto was silent before summoning his Keyblade. He played with it, swinging it around, as if by habit. After a few swings, he stopped to merely stare at it, taking in the shape as if to remember an important memory.

"During that _trial_, when I saw my old man's portrait in a glass depiction of the Kyuubi Incident. It was stupid of me, right? Not realizing something so obvious..."

Hiruzen smiled. "A stupid person in a country filled with idiots, Naruto. You aren't the one who didn't notice."

"Ne, nee, jiji... Was my mom the red-haired lady I saw?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Her name was Uzumaki Kushina. After she died with Minato, your father, I made a choice of giving you her surname to protect you from your father's enemies, especially from Iwa. But don't think small of the Uzumaki, for they have their own history." He then told Naruto the story of the fallen Uzumaki Clan, Uzushiogakure, and of his mother's status as the princess of Whirlpool. He also didn't forget to mention Uzumaki Mito, the Shodaime's wife. "Truly, you were as close as a prince that Konoha had, yet you were mistreated."

"If only I managed to prevent the leakage of your status as a Jinchuuriki, then at least I would have managed to give you a peaceful childhood, may it be without parental guidance. For that, Naruto, I apologize."

Naruto gave a small grin to appease the old man. "Don't worry about it, Jiji. Somehow, I think it's due to this Keyblade, somehow I understand. I would've done the same."

Hiruzen gave a sad gaze. "You are truly your parents' son. You may have gained that motor-mouth personality of your mother and the looks of your father, but the thing that makes you their son is the strength of your Will of Fire." Hiruzen stared ahead, remembering what his sensei said. "The leaves of Konoha burn, the shadows of the flames warming and protecting the buds. The ashes fall, and from those ashes, the buds will bloom anew. Such is the Will of Fire."

Naruto nodded, and was about to ask another question when his Keyblade shone in blinding white light. After rubbing away the spots left in his vision, he set his eyes on a different blade. It had a shape similar to bough of wood, brown surface rough like bark, cracked and burned in several places, spouts and curls of orange flame adorning the edges, and at the end were several leaf-shaped blades of gold, placed upon two stems of silver positioned beside each other near the tip.

"**Phoenix**** Ashes**. The blade formed from the will of one's predecessors. "Naruto said, as if in a trance," "So this is what 'Bonds give the KeyBearer power' means huh."

Hiruzen, who had been watching the entire thing occur, nodded.

"It is aptly named. A phoenix is said to be born of its own ashes after it dies. Truly is an example of the Will of Fire. Can you try summoning back the **Fading Scars**?"

Naruto snapped out of his trance, nodded and closed his eyes. With a flash of light, the **Fading Scars** was back in Naruto's hand.

"Try summoning the other one in your other hand."

Naruto nodded again, attempting to do the same as earlier, but this time holding his empty hand out. A rod of light attempted to form, but snapped and crackled before fading away.

"No, I can't just yet. But I just know one day I would be able to do so! Anyways Jiji, putting this new cool Keyblade aside, can you tell me about my parents? I never really listened to Iruka-sensei's lectures, and I want to hear more about my mother! Was she a cool prankster like me!?"

Hiruzen laughed, and answered the question. If Naruto seemed to have forcefully changed the subject, he wouldn't pry. After all the Keyblade is his business alone. He then set upon answering Naruto's questions until after a while he suddenly stopped and put his finger at his mouth, signaling for silence from Naruto. Said blonde was reasonably confused until the door was suddenly slammed open, an 8 year old wearing a helmet and scarf running inside holding a kunai.

"Prepare yourself old man! I'll defeat you and take that hat, for I am the one to be Godaime Hokage!"

* * *

**VI.**

After a short fiasco with the noisy brat (ahem, Konohamaru) regarding about blood relations to the Hokage (he made sure to not mention his own, no matter how tempted he became), his own apathy about said relation to the Hokage, hitting the brat on the head in front of the said Hokage, and some worthless teacher who claims to know 'shortcuts' to the Hokage position, Naruto went away to practice his new Keyblade.

Heading towards Ichiraku's, Naruto took in his situation. Today he learned about his heritage. It wasn't much of a shock about his father really, he had enough time to take that in before Hiruzen affirmed his thoughts. It was about his mother that took the cake, after all, for an orphan like him hearing that he was essentially royalty to a dead country was not something he could've expected.

He needed more time. And lots of ramen.

"Oi! Naruto! How was your meeting with the Hokage-sama?"

Entering the shop, he was surprised to find Iruka sitting there, already eating a bowl. Seeing his surprise, Iruka smiled before speaking.

"Your healing really helped you know, otherwise I'll be in the hospital." Seeing Naruto's expression, he continued: "Did you hear something potentially life-changing again, Naruto?"

Naruto grinned. Iruka always knew whenever he was in a mood.

"I heard lots of things, Iruka-sensei!"

Naruto waited. If he was right...

"Then I'll treat you ramen as much as you want! It's a celebration for your promotion to genin, so hopefully you'll get out of your funk."

Iruka would treat him ramen. Success.

Though, since Ichiraku's wasn't the best place to discuss S-rank secrets, the twosome agreed to meet somewhere else. Iruka agreed to help Naruto train in his Keyblades later; there was still a lot of things Iruka was curious about.

Finding an unused training ground in the Nara Clan's territory (honestly, do they use them at all?), Naruto was asked to sit down. Confused, Naruto asked why, and Iruka, forming his Teaching Pose #1, portable blackboard at back, right hand at his hip, chalk in his other hand.

Writing on the board, Iruka slammed his right hand at the newly-written 'MEDITATION'.

"Eeehh! But meditating is so boring, Iruka-sensei! Can't I just spar with my clones or something more fun than that?"

Iruka made a tsk-tsk sound. "You can't hurry perfection Naruto. Before we do that, you have to get your mind used to your Keyblade. Like you've told me, your kenjutsu is instinctual. You have to find your inner swordsman, as they call them."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Hm? 'They'? Iruka-sensei, where have you heard of this?"

Iruka flinched in his position.

Grinning foxily, Naruto continued. "Iru~ka-sensei~ Don't tell me it's from one of your manga or anything, right?"

Naruto knew that Iruka, the upright teacher of Konoha, was secretly a closet otaku after entering without permission in his house.

Of course, said otaku denies that accusation.

"Naruto, just get to meditation already." he says, vessel popping in his forehead.

And so, as Iruka goes through his **Big Head no Jutsu** seals, Naruto immediately set upon meditating.

But you can't force someone to meditate, so merely minutes after sitting, Iruka saw Naruto start fidgeting. Sighing, he sat down himself beside Naruto, placing the boy's hands in his own.

"Huh, Iruka-sensei?"

"Focus on my presence and breathing."

Following his teacher's words, Naruto centered in Iruka's position, syncing his own breathing with his brother-figure's.

Breath in. Breath out. In. Out.

A beating sound was recognized with Naruto's enhanced hearing. Was it his?

No, it was Iruka's. Finding his own, he fell into a deeper trance.

Deeper. Deeper. Falling deeper. His own breathing with Iruka's. His own heartbeat...

Was that chuckling he was starting to hear?

Opening his eyes, he found himself in front of the same man who led him through his trial. Beside him was Iruka.

'**Welcome back.**'

Iruka huffed. "Huh, I didn't expect it to actually work, much less with me along."

The man chuckled once more. '**Well, master had been _very _intent with your presence. I simply had to drag you in.**'

Naruto took in the man's features. He was in fact, very similar to his eyes for some reason, even though he never saw him before. Dressed in a fitting jacket of a color Naruto couldn't pin down, he had the same facial structure with his father's, black hair in a hairstyle similar to his own, only more tame. His eyes though, Naruto couldn't compare them with anyone he knew.

If Naruto's eyes could be called cerulean, his was midnight blue. His pupils though, were black with several glints of gold.

'**Like what you see?**'

Naruto grinned. "My inner swordsman is cool."

The man smiled in return. '**Thanks for the compliment, master. My name is Arashi.**'

"You actually have a name?" Iruka asked, surprised. "Well, getting to business, can you help Naruto master the Keyblade?"

Arashi raised his hands to the air. The two Keyblades Naruto obtained appeared from nowhere.

'**He never had to ask and he never had to master the Keyblade. I am the Keyblade, and he is my master.**'

Naruto's mouth was wide open. "Coooool! Can I do that, well you know, outside of here? Where is here anyways?"

The swordsman merely shook his head. '**I am a fickle thing, master. I refuse to merely be thrown without being held.**'

'**As for this place, it is a region of your mind where I reside. Normally, meditation would've sent you in front of the fox's cage. I merely called you here. Next time, image yourself in here and I will call you once more.**'

Ingesting Arashi's words, Iruka sputtered, "Wait, the Kyuubi's cage?!"

Seeing Arashi nod, Naruto shivered. He didn't want to meet just yet the beast who killed his and Iruka's parents, along with hundreds of others from Konoha.

Arashi frowned at the two's reactions. '**He isn't as bad as you think. He isn't entirely at fault for the incident in your village.**'

This time, their surprise turned into full-blown shock. But before they could ask for an explanation, Arashi continued:

'**Back to your previous question. I can't help him master the Keyblade, but I can teach him what I can do.**'

Iruka, realizing that Arashi wouldn't explain his words, merely went along with his flow.

"How can you do it then?"

Arashi gave them a smile before turning away, walking along a dark path farther and farther from the two.

Before the twosome lost sight of the swordsman, they heard him comment:

'**I always wanted to ask, when would you read that book of mine, master?**'

And with a flash of light, Iruka and Naruto found themselves back in the unused training ground.

* * *

**VII.**

The next day, Naruto returned to the training grounds alone, putting his hands in a familiar handseal.

"**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

As expected, dozens of clones appeared in puffs of white smoke. Whistling to gain the attention of each clone, he gave orders for each to summon their own Keyblade. While most summoned the **Phoenix Ashes**, some still summoned the **Fading Scars**.

Seeing the book attached to the **Fading Scars**, Naruto felt like hitting himself in the head.

It was rather obvious, the first Keyblade coming with a manual.

Yesterday, after some time of thinking, he and Iruka came to the realization after remembering the first Keyblade's certain feature. And so, after summoning the Keyblade once more, they set upon reading it together. It contained several statistics of his two Keyblades, and an explanation of each one's abilities.

Later on, Naruto mastered summoning the Book alone without the entire Keyblade itself. It was getting annoying fast, leaving the Keyblade hanging. And painful. A quick turn while reading the book, and he hit himself somehow in the crotch. Ouch.

He himself summoned the **Phoenix Ashes**, and then, reminiscent of what he did yesterday in Hiruzen's office, took out his free hand to summon the **Fading Scars**.

Honestly, the reason why he didn't do it earlier was that when he first tried, something in him (Arashi) had sent him a mental warning: '**Really, Master? I can do that if you want to, but the old man would probably end up with ripped papers and dirty furniture.**'

The fact that he wanted to master it first before showing it to the old man was also part of the reason.

Concentrating as he usually did in summoning a Keyblade, he closed his eyes and called up those emotions within him, calling out to him to be named. He murmured, "**Second Form, Gallant: Fading Scars.**"

The usual rod of light swelled, getting brighter until his entire body was covered in light. When the light faded away, he opened his eyes to see his clones with theirs wide open, as if seeing something they couldn't quite believe. He then asked, "What?"

"**SO COOL!"** was the chorused response.

"Yeah, I know the light sequence was cool, but not _that_ cool."

One clone waved his hands above his head to get Naruto's attention. "No, not that! Look at your clothes!"

"Huh?" Spotting a nearby lake, Naruto sprinted, only to stop and gawk at his own reflection.

Yeah, he was **cool.** His normal orange and blue jumpsuit was gone, leaving him in a red and dark orange jacket robe with several pockets on his person. Opening them, he realized the contents of his missing holsters were inside the pockets where the said holsters used to be. Taking the time to take in the details, he noticed the gold and bronze embroidery of flames on his back, curling inward to form the Uzumaki spiral, and the gold buttons with cores of emerald forming a V from his shoulders and ending at his sternum.

Arashi gave him a mental smirk. '**Like I said, like what you see, master?**'

Naruto only shook his head at his sword spirit's words.

'Yeah, yeah, you're a wonderful person with a good sense of fashion.' He commented with the slightest of sarcasm.

He could practically feel the spirit raise his hands in mock defeat. '**Well, says the kid with an unnatural penchant for orange. I had to try so hard make those clothes of yours grand you know?**'

Shaking his head once more and going back into training, he gave the signal for all the clones to attack him. To his surprise, even though the clones were teaming up on him, it was simple for him to just dance around his clones, slashing here and stabbing there. When he noticed his clones channeling chakra in their Keyblades, he did the same with his own **Phoenix Ashes**.

**Phoenix**** Ashes** was, to Naruto's words, 'A spiny fiery wood bough of death. With extra sharp edges in the side.'

It could allow Naruto to use flame sealless Jutsus of various ranks, and create extensions of his attacks in form of fire animals. It has a penchant for creating birds though, so if Naruto wanted something of the land type, he had to focus.

**Fire**, the weakest sealless Jutsu it had, was high C-rank. **Fira, **the next on the tier, was mid B-rank. The strongest of the three, **Firaga**, was mid A-rank.

This was something that came as a shock to Iruka, as having a single sealless jutsu in one's arsenal, even if it was only C-rank, was something on Jounin-level shinobi did.

The fact was though, no matter how fast and powerful they were, it wasn't suitable for a stable style. They were too chakra-intensive, with a **Firaga** costing enough to a pop whatever clone that used it. Naruto could still use it instead in just changing his raw chakra to **Katon** chakra, and add that chakra into his attacks.

Slashing a full circular cut in the air around himself with it, he released the chakra pulse, leaving behind a circular gout of yellow flame, expanding and popping nearby clones. "**Flame Circus!**" Jumping over his nearby clones, flipping twice in midair, and popping several of his impatient clones that thought he was easy to attack with several quick stabs in various angles while airborne. A good idea usually, but not against Naruto.

The stab attacks left fire streaks in the air afterwards, which immediately spawned several fire-birds of prey that dive-bombed his panicking clones.

Channeling even more chakra, he danced once more around his clones, this time releasing it in short bursts, causing even more animals made of flame to fly: birds, phoenixes, rabbits, deer, and at one time, after a 6 hit combo, he released a freaking _rhino_! Sure, it rampaged around, trampling the rest of his clones, but it nearly trampled him as well before dispersing in small embers.

"Woah!" Ah, the watcher finally shows his bratty self.

Naruto snickered. He played around with the ANBU like they were jokes ever since he was a kid. Of course he would notice an 10 year old who couldn't even realize that a brick wall camouflage sheet didn't work in a _forest_!

"Ah," Naruto couldn't help himself, "the watcher finally shows his bratty self!"

'**And the pot meets kettle.**' Arashi commented.

"Don't call me a brat!" the brat, ahem, Konohamaru, yelled.

"Only when you stop being short!"

"You're short yourself!"

'**He's right you know, master.**' Arashi chimed in.

"Shut up! I'm still growing up!" This time it was aimed for both spirit and ten year old kid.

"So am I!"

After several minutes of just plain arguing between him and Konohamaru, Naruto decided to remind Konohamaru about his failure in camouflage tactics. After all, what sort of Hokage would he be if he didn't correct his soon-to-be subordinate on his flaws.

'**Ahem, not Hokage yet?**' Naruto didn't listen.

"Anyways, Konohamaru," the kid froze, as if unused to his own name. "You probably shouldn't use a brick wall camouflage sheet in a forest. It sticks out!"

"Your stupid jumpsuit sticks out too!"

"I'm not wearing them now anyway."

"Those even stick out more." Konohamaru commented, reassessing the blond's appearance, "You look like a prince or something!"

Naruto rubbed his head in embarrassment. "Really?" '**You don't know how right that is.**' He mentally sweatdropped, to Arashi's amusement. He then dispelled the two Keyblades in a flash of light, leaving him once again wearing his usual orange jumpsuit. His knees then collapsed, and he felt like he had fought for the entire day instead of only a few hours.

"Hey! Those clothes were much cooler! Why go back to your lame orange jumpsuit!?"

"But those clothes were part of my power-up form." Naruto reasoned. "And summoning them is tiring. AND MY JUMPSUIT ISN'T RIDICULOUS!"

"I never said ridiculous." Konohamaru teased. "I just said lame. Or stupid."

"Anyway," Naruto went serious, "what do you want? We got a little sidetracked."

"I want you to train me, Naruto-niichan!"

'Naruto-niichan eh?' Naruto thought, 'It feels good.' "Sure."

To this, Naruto could feel Arashi smile.

After spending a whole afternoon of _attempting_ to fix Konohamaru's poor henge and teaching him more about stealth ('No, Konohamaru, the orange is great! Tell me, if you can hide in bright orange, you can hide in anything, right?'). Konohamaru wanted to have a try at the Keyblade, but when Naruto was finally convinced to hand it to him ('**Is master leaving me?**' Arashi mock-sobbed,), it only returned to his hand in a flash of light.

"Damn, nii-chan! Why can't you let me try having that Keyblade!"

'**See, the kid likes me more than you...**' Gloated Arashi in Naruto's head, giving the blond a headache.

"Konohamaru," Naruto chastised, "Stop being such a brat. I just can't really give it to _anyone_, may it be the Hokage or daimyo!"

"Ehhh!" Konohamaru raised his arms to the skies. "Why, world! Why would you only allow such an idiot use the Keyblade!"

"Hey!" Naruto indignantly retorted while Arashi was nodding inside Naruto's head.

Konohamaru laughed sheepishly, causing Naruto to break in snickers.

Their argument ended up with both of them just laying on the grass, looking at the far-away sunset. Naruto couldn't remember the last time he could feel so relaxed. With all that mess about the Keyblade, Mizuki, the Kyuubi, and his parents, he couldn't help but brood, but thanks to Iruka and Konohamaru, (and by part Arashi) that uncomfortable knot in his stomach finally untwisted. Konohamaru on the other hand, was merely happy to be seen as Konohamaru, the kid, and not Hiruzen's Honorable Grandson.

"Nii-chan?"

"What, Konohamaru?_"_

"You will soon become a ninja right?"

Naruto hummed in agreement.

"Then, can you promise me this?"

Naruto sat up and turned to Konohamaru, who was still staring at the sunset.

"Can you promise me to not forget about me? That you can be sometimes to be just a kid and play around? Because Naruto-niichan, earlier, your fighting was so cool, but I could see that you looked so lonely."

"So, can you promise me, that at least sometimes, you can play ninja with me?"

Naruto turned again to the sunset, not knowing why tears started forming in his eyes.

"I promise."

* * *

**VIII.**

"Honorable Grandson!" The useless teache- ehm, Ebisu scolded, "Where have you been?!"

"I was playing ninja with Naruto-niichan!"

Ebisu looked scandalized. "Don't play with the dem- I mean, delinquent!"

Naruto noticed the slip.

"Ebisu-_san_, I've heard from Konohamaru that you have these, _shortcuts_" Naruto looked disgusted at merely saying the word, "to the Hokage position. Tell me, what are these _shortcuts_ of yours?"

"Mere clan-less delinquents like you aren't worth them!"

That was the final straw. Naruto took out the **Phoenix Ashes** and in a show of agility, placed the sharp end near Ebisu's throat.

"Don't call me _clan-less_!"

Ebisu didn't even dignify him a reaction other than fixing his shades. Konohamaru could only shake in his legs when Ebisu released a short burst of killing intent.

"So the _delinquent_ thinks he has a clan. What next, a blood relation to the Shodai?"

'**Master, I don't think it's best for you to...' **Arashi attempted to calm down Naruto, but the blond was too enraged by now.

Angered beyond reasoning, Naruto gave a slash at Ebisu's throat, only to notice that Ebisu Kawarimi'ed before getting hit.

"Hoh, let's see if this _delinquent _truly has the skills to back up his words!"

"Nii-chan," Konohamaru, seeing an incoming fight, tried to calm them down before a fight really broke out, "calm down!"

But Naruto was too mad to listen.

"**TAJUU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!**"

"So you think you can beat me with just numbers like what you did against that traitor Mizuki?"

Blood was rushing in Naruto's head. He didn't hear Arashi's words once more.

Konohamaru, really scared, screamed, "NII-CHAN, YOU PROMISED!"

Those words stroke a chord in Naruto.

_'Can you promise me to not forget about me? That you can be sometimes to be just a kid and play around? Because Naruto-niichan, earlier, your fighting was so cool, but I could see that you looked so lonely.'_

'What am I doing? I can't just fight him.' Naruto thought, calming down and dispelling his clones. He tried walking away, to leave the place as to not cause anymore problems for Konohamaru.

'**Thank goodness, master, you've calmed down.**' Arashi sighed in relief. '**It's best you hurry and leave, lest he says something more to anger you.**'

"Hoh, I see." Ebisu commented, "Our Honorable Grandson is so great he has control over the Demon-brat."

Naruto froze.

Was this the reason every time he called Konohamaru by name, he flinched? Was it because he was never 'Konohamaru' in the eyes of those around him?

An image of a 5-year old beaten and bruised Naruto being ignored by everyone flashed through his mind. He could still remember how painful those days were, and how happy he had become when Teuchi welcomed him in his store, even if it caused him to lose customers.

'_Don't worry, kid. I have no wish to serve those who ever let you alone like this__.'_

He was the first civilian who ever saw him for who he was. And now, he could be that person for Konohamaru.

"Sorry, Konohamaru. I tried. But at least this time I have a lesson to teach to the _teacher_."

Naruto took out his other hand, summoning his will to protect his promise to Konohamaru. He wouldn't just remember it, he would remember that he could still be a kid sometimes, and for Konohamaru to be seen the same.

"**Second Form, Gallant: Playful Trickster!**"

In a flash of light much brighter than the one earlier, Naruto transformed to his red and gold robes. But this time, in his left hand, was Keyblade of golden triangular hilt, the blade curved like a scimitar, decorated with deadly golden curves and curls at the edges.

Channeling chakra in his Keyblades, Ebisu could only be shocked as Naruto disappeared in a golden flash, reappearing at Ebisu's back, slashing up with his right, down with his left, continued with a diagonal slash from both directions, meeting at the center. Pulling both Keyblades back, channeling more chakra, and with a piercing strike, releasing the combo.

"**Flaming Trickster!**" A dragon, formed from the lines of fire left in midair, roared and bit into the screaming Ebisu, blasting him away several dozen yards from Naruto.

Ebisu attempted to escape, but alas, he found out he couldn't control his own chakra to use a kawarimi. The dragon's chakra was conflicting with his own, mixing in his system and hampering the molding process. He could only yell in pain as the dragon closed his mouth fully, swelled, and exploded, and starting from the tip till the end.

When the fires of the dragon abated, what was left of the training ground was a charred line of ashes and blackened grass. Naruto was on his knees again, exhausted from the attack, and Ebisu was at the other end, shades gone, clothes charred black, and body covered in burns.

"You, YOU, YOU DEMON-BRAT!" Ebisu raged, running towards the exhausted Naruto.

Naruto could do nothing but close his eyes and wait for Ebisu to-

In a swirl of leaves, a coughing man carrying a sword appeared behind Ebisu, knocking the man out.

"So here you are, Uzumaki Naruto." Turning towards Naruto, the man said, "My name is Gekkou Hayate."

* * *

**AN: Okay! Second chapter done!**

**Sorry for the cliffie! I'm not really that good at writing really... If you have something to comment or review, can you please send a message?  
**

**To those who want to know whether there would be pairings in this fic, the answer is yes. I'll planning to make this fic shounen, so expect Naruto to be cool here and there and winning the admiration of others. Harem is overrated guys, so don't expect it. Sure, I can make more love interests, but in the end there would only be one pairing for Naruto.**

**Now, here is the statistics of the **Phoenix Ashes **Keyblade.**

**Phoenix**** Ashes:**

**Melee Power: Strong**

**Magic Power: Weak**

**Type: Offense**

**Affinity: Fire**

**Imbued Magic: Fire, Fira, Firaga**

**Abilities: Flame Slasher – This Keyblade basically combines the power of fire to one's slashes. When chakra is channeled in between strikes, one can summon fire 'animals', depending on the combo formed before releasing the chakra. For example, a simple overhead slash will summon either a single small phoenix or several flame sparrows.**

**My Comment: This Keyblade focuses on flashy slashy fire moves, and will be the source of Naruto's flame affinity, but compared to other Keyblades, the magic is relatively weak; the Firaga of this KeyBlade will lose against a Firaga of another.**

**And now here is for the **Playful Trickster **Keyblade.**

**Playful Trickster:**

**Melee Power: Strong**

**Magic Power: Null**

**Type: Offense/Support**

**Affinity: Wind/Light**

**Imbued Magic: None**

**Abilities: Tricky – This Keyblade enhances the speed and battle reflexes of the wielder. When chakra is channeled through it, it allows the wielder to accelerate in a flash of light, allowing the user to surprise and create a blind spot against his enemies. Whenever this ability is used repeatedly, the power of the slashes increases, but it becomes more difficult to control.**

**My Comment: This Keyblade strategizes in finishing fights quickly and flashily because it is not built for battles of attrition. It is best used in tandem with other more powerful keyblades with good physical capabilities. It can also be used in hit and run tactics with magic oriented Keyblades.**

_**Edit: Added an omake!**_

**The Keyblade Book/Manual**

"Nee, nee, Iruka-sensei. Look at this, it explains what I did to Mizuki. Look!"

"I'm looking Naruto, I'm looking."

Naruto and Iruka were reading the Book. Of course, Iruka became wide-eyed at the descriptions written.

Mind reading in exchange for healing? Attacks that form fire animals?

But there was something Iruka didn't understand. It was that Imbued Magic placed alongside the other statistics.

"Arashi-san, can you show us the Magic section?"

The book then flickered its pages until it stopped in the Magic section.

"Okay, it says here that point your Keyblade at your target, charge up your chakra, and call out the name of the magic you want to use..."

Naruto jumped up and down. "Ooh, ooh! I want to try using one!" He dispelled the book and summoned the **Phoenix Ashes**. Raising the Keyblade until it was pointing directly upwards, Naruto charged up his chakra, causing him to glow in a slight blue aura and making Iruka's hairs go up.

"Naruto, I don't think you should-"

"**Firaga!**" And with that, a small fist-sized red orb shot out of the Keyblade's tip, going directly upwards until it was unrecognizable.

"Huh, honestly I expected more-" There was a huge booming sound, and the skies above them lit up in fire. From the distance, Iruka could recognize that the blast radius was at least a hundred meters in diameter, and after hearing something, he ran up to Naruto.

"Hit the dirt!"

Iruka was right in his expectations as a strong sonic boom came to them, causing their things to fly off a few meters from their positions.

Shivering, Iruka gave Naruto a steely gaze.

"W-what, Iruka-sensei?"

"Naruto," with this he gave the kid a strong grip at the shoulders, "promise me next time you wouldn't play with fire, okay?"

Iruka found Naruto's reaction to be like one of those tourist souvenirs sold at the gate of Konoha.

What were they called again? Ah, oh yes, bobble-heads.


	3. Acquaintances and Teachers PT 2

**AN: _Okayari-nasai Minnasama_!**

**I'm back! Don't hope just yet that I'll be a frequent updater, for my updates will be spontaneous at best. If only someone would review…. Psych!**

**Edit: Added more scenes and put the changes into action. Everyone, have more of your daily dose of Arashi!**

**Chapter 3: Teachers and Acquaintances PT 2**

* * *

**IX.**

Hiruzen really needed to buy some painkillers. Naruto was in his office too often for his tastes recently. When he thought of using his crystal ball to spy on Naruto and Konohamaru he didn't plan on seeing an all-out fight between an elite jounin and a soon-to-be genin. Hurriedly, he summoned Hayate to stop the fight, ending up with him here together with a previously charred Ebisu (healed by a repentant Naruto).

"I expected more of you, Ebisu." He admonished. "Imagine, taunting a twelve year-old to a fight?"

"It was that brat's fault, I was only leading the Honora-" Ebisu started to explain, but he was soon cut off by a fuming Hiruzen.

"I watched the _entire_ thing, Ebisu. Don't try to make excuses. You willfully agitated the child. You don't even know how your words have hurt him!"

Ebisu tried to explain yet again. "But, Hokage-sama, all of the things I said were true!"

Beyond livid, Hiruzen signaled the ANBU to leave. He then ordered the two in front of him to stay.

"_True_? You don't know how true your words are! _Clan-less_? How can you have a clan when it had been ripped apart by war? Blood-less? Hell, that kid has more _royal_ blood than I have!"

"And to think that the boy only learned of those this morning. Of course he'll get angry with you placing salt on fresh wounds."

Needless to say Ebisu was shocked. Hayate on the other hand stepped forward, asking a question.

"Hokage-sama, may you explain? If that kid is surely who you say, why haven't we heard of it?"

Hiruzen quickly answered. "Simple. Because he would have an even bigger target on his back."

Forming several seals, he activated a privacy barrier inside the office.

"Everything I will tell you in this room are S-rank secrets. To make it quick, Uzumaki Naruto is the only child of _Uzumaki_ Kushina, the Red Death, and Namikaze Minato, the Yellow Flash."

Ebisu's eyes grew wider, and his shades cracked. His skin paled, and he started sweating. As for Hayate, he looked like he had several questions finally answered, yet his eyes were tinged with regret.

"Then when the Yondaime told his last wish, he didn't mean it in thanks for the kid's sacrifice, but for us to-"

"Take care of his only living family, yes." Hiruzen growled. "Now tell me, did we do a right job?"

"Don't forget his _unimportant_ blood relations, as you have said, _Ebisu_. He is undoubtedly related to the First and Second through Uzumaki Mito and the Fourth is his father. And to me, he is a _grandson_. Tell me, is he unimportant?"

"B-b-b-b-but, I d-didn't know!" Ebisu stuttered.

"Yes, you didn't know! But orders were orders, and I _ordered_ you to treat the child as a hero he truly is. He might as well be a _prince_ for God's sake."

Hitting his table with his hands, Hiruzen shouted. "You, _Elite Jounin_ Ebisu, would be demoted to Special Jounin status and would be suspended for three months. After that, it'll be a decision of both Konohamaru and Naruto whether you regain your previous rank and position as the _Honorable Grandson_'s personal tutor."

"And as for you, Gekkou Hayate, your mission will go as planned. All I discussed today will be free to discuss in Naruto's protective ANBU squad. Make sure it doesn't spread outside of that group."

"You are dismissed!"

Later on, Naruto entered the office, still looking regretful about the earlier debacle.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, it wasn't your fault." He comforted Naruto. "I already told him off earlier. Now, we have something to talk about. It's about your Keyblade."

Naruto looked interested.

"Your Keyblade allows you to instinctively use it, as you told me earlier. But you still lack the finesse and skills to truly exploit its entire capability. That's why I have prepared for you to be taught by one of our swordsmen. You've met Hayate, right?"

Naruto's eyes widened in realization.

"He would be my teacher?"

Hiruzen smiled. "Yes. And I believe you share a common strategy between you two." Seeing Naruto's questioning gaze, he complied. "You both like the use of shadow clones."

"Now, go on to Training Ground 32. See you in a week."

As Naruto was about to leave, the entrance to the room was suddenly opened with Iruka barging in.

"Hokage-sama, was it true that- Naruto!" The teacher rushed towards his pupil. "I leave you for one day, just one day, and you get into a fight with _Ebisu_-san?"

"S-sorry about that, Iruka-sensei…" Naruto timidly replied. "I got mad at him, and it was my-"

"It isn't your fault, Naruto." Iruka cut in. "I've heard already from Konohamaru what Ebisu-san said. Of course you'll get angry."

He sighed, muttering something like: "I'll get grey hairs at this rate."

"Anyways, do you have any plans?"

Hiruzen answered for the blond. "He's scheduled to meet with Hayate in the Training Ground 32. You may help him if you want, Iruka."

It only took the scarred man a millisecond before agreeing.

* * *

**X.**

Training with Hayate was great. The fact that Hayate knew of his situation helped. First, he explained the memory transfer ability of Shadow Clones, something that he didn't really understand in his rush to learn the jutsu. It really helped in trying the abilities and sealless jutsus of his Keyblades.

Iruka would visit once in a while, helping him relearn several of his lessons in class. The teacher had reviewed Naruto's records and found conclusive evidence of sabotage. He then promptly decided to force Naruto through several of his books, using sufficient application of candy, whip, and shadow clones.

Strange though, Arashi would only comment whenever he wasn't around any shinobi higher than genin other than if it was Iruka. When he asked, an image of Arashi smiling almost coyly passed through his mind, with a message:

'**Well, a person can like their privacy, can't they, master?**'

For now, Naruto was satisfied. He was doing sufficient progress in his kenjutsu and education. He was also learning more of his sealless jutsus.

Those jutsus really helped in a conversation that helped save Hayate's life.

"Hayate-san, why do you cough so much?"

They were resting after a quick spar. Though Hayate was only able to use 4 clones at most, he had more skill in using them, forcing Naruto to team up at least a dozen of his own clones to dispel them. Given that he had been given a limit to only use 20 clones in the entire match, it was a very tiring but helpful match.

Coughing again in his hand, Hayate answered, "It runs in my family, and it is the reason why there are so few of us now. We normally die of it at 40s, and that is if we don't get killed in missions because of it. We need a miracle to cure it, and even Tsunade-sama couldn't heal it."

Thinking of his earlier jutsu, the **Curaga** and **Esuna,** Naruto asked, "Can I try something?"

Hayate turned, interested. "Okay."

**Cure** and its stronger varieties along with **Esuna** were outright strange. After several tests with intentional wounds, Iruka had arranged for Naruto to volunteer in the hospital, under a henge of course. At the beginning, the patients he was allowed to attend to were minor, like sprains and colds.

Later on though, it moved to more serious ones, like broken bones, muscular damage, and open wounds.

But whatever magnitude of wounds or diseases was all healed, perfectly.

The doctor who was watching him and Hiruzen who attended his healings were very interested in his Keyblade at that point.

He couldn't understand the entire thing about it, but Iruka explained their findings to him very carefully.

**Cure** and its variants denied anything that can be called 'damage' to a living subject's body. Anything that had the concept of 'damage', like wounds, sores, swelling, or even scar tissue was rejected, and the extent on how it worked depended on whether the jutsu was one of the stronger variants.

An amputation was considered 'damage' as he had learned when a Jounin with a severe training incident was dragged in the hospital.

As for **Esuna**, it was _much_ stranger. If **Cure** denied 'damage', then **Esuna** denied 'abnormalities'. Truly, Naruto didn't realize the importance of that until Iruka pointed out that every disease can be considered 'abnormal' in terms of the human body. Damage was normal after all to a living body, as cells die and gets damaged daily.

But viruses, bacteria, and other disease causing agents were 'abnormal' as so to speak. He blocked out everything else after that because his head started spinning.

But now, if **Esuna **and **Curaga** were truly almighty healing techniques, wouldn't they be capable of healing whatever disease Hayate had?

Naruto summoned his **Fading Scars**, and pointed it at Hayate. "Let's try whether this Keyblade is awesome enough to heal you Hayate-san."

Uncharacteristically, Arashi commented in mock hurt. '**Don't you trust me, master?**'

Naruto shot back, 'Bug me later, Arashi. I have to get to healing Hayate-san already.'

Charging a really huge amount of chakra for the jutsu, Naruto shouted, "**Esuna!**"

A white light shot out of the Keyblade, hitting Hayate who immediately stopped coughing, much to the man's shock.

"**Curaga!**"

A huge orb of green light shot this time, hitting a still shocked Hayate, covering him before fading away.

"How do you feel, Hayate-san?" Naruto asked impatiently. "Do you feel better now, or what?"

Widened eyes, Hayate looked at his hands, then feeling for his chest and throat. He waited. No response.

"I feel _great_! How long has it been since I felt this way! Even after years of medication I never recovered this well!"

Realizing that he still hasn't coughed for 5 minutes, his eyes widened even more.

"I'm not coughing. I'm _not coughing_. I'm not coughing!"

He then ran towards a grinning Naruto, giving him a tight hug.

"Thank you. You don't know how grateful I am with what you've done."

And so then the now exuberant man continued training Naruto with more fervor. After teaching Naruto to learn the tree-walking exercise, Hayate left, promising to return and leaving Naruto alone.

'**So master, you still doubt my magic?**'

Naruto huffed. Arashi was still gloating. Summoning more clones, seallessly this time, he set them upon running up more trees.

As he climbed a tree himself, he held an argument with his inner swordsman.

When Hayate returned, a violet-haired woman in tow, they found Naruto meditating on top of a tree, seemingly at peace at himself. Little did they know he was holding a little sparring session with Arashi in a small section of his mind.

The lady grinned. This will be fun.

"So this is the boy who cured Hayate!"

When Yuugao laughed at Naruto's _very_ painful fall from the top of the tree, Hayate had a niggling thought that perhaps, just perhaps, Yuugao was spending a little too much time with Anko.

Not that he'll dare mention it of course. He'll rather have those important parts of him untouched and not neutered.

Naruto was later then had to be dragged to Ichiraku's due to his very painful headache. The couple had apparently decided to treat him. They considered inviting Iruka but the teacher was currently, word for word, 'Crying behind his desk buried under paperwork much akin to the Sandaime.'

Naruto privately told Arashi to remind him later to ask Iruka and Jiji why they don't use shadow clones for their paperwork.

"It's our treat. You can consider it payment for helping Hayate." The woman whose name Naruto now knew as Yuugao, Hayate's girlfriend, told him. Earlier, it was explained to him that when Hayate suddenly arrived at her home bringing good news, they immediately left for Hayate's doctor, a man named Yakushi Yashiro.

They were later then told by the joyful doctor that Hayate was indeed of full health, and his lung disease was gone. After a short grilling session, they then left for the Hokage to tell him of the good news. The old man was reasonably pleased and had this twinkle in his eye of silent satisfaction.

When Naruto heard of this, he had a pondered for a second whether the old man planned this happening. Knowing his reputation after several books crammed into his head by the resolute Iruka, Naruto found that conclusion satisfactory.

Naruto blinked. Since when did he use words like that?

Perhaps his vocabulary was being helped by that very thick dictionary that was the mental death of five of his clones. Whoever said words can't hurt you deserves to be stabbed. Repeatedly.

Arashi chuckled. '**Master, it isn't that bad. At least you're getting little less idiotic.**' Naruto only deigned him with a mental tongue-out.

"Don't worry about holding back that appetite we heard of so much from Iruka-san's laments." Said a grinning Hayate, his customary bandages now gone, "We have enough money from what would have been paid for my medicine. Expect something else at the end of the week!"

"So tell me," Yuugao asked. "How was your tree climbing exercise?"

"It was a huge pain in the ass using my shadow clones." Naruto answered. "It's a great cheat to everything, the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** but after a while, my clones started falling so high that even if I didn't fall myself I'll get a headache."

He pouted. "A headache and then an even stronger headache because I would fall then myself because I lost focus!" Naruto returned to his ramen before finishing. "I had to finish the exercise myself! If meditation didn't help with headaches, I don't know what would've happened…"

Hayate chuckled. "But it's previously unheard of that a soon-to-be genin managed to master the exercise in just a few hours you know."

"But I still kind of dislike the fact that my clones pop so easily." Naruto grumbled. "Did you know, ever since I heard of my family's sealing legacy, I've been begging the old man for their fuuinjutsu notes? Now, one of my dreams is to one day somehow make the perfect, self-sustaining, kick-ass, hardy clone!"

Hearing Naruto claim to one day complete a problem that for years greater men have tried and failed, Hayate could only believe the kid who helped him live much longer than he ever thought he would.

"Naruto-san," Yuugao spoke, looking at Hayate. He nodded. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" Naruto asked, in between mouthfuls of ramen.

"Would you like to stay with us for the rest of the week?" She asked. "We already have permission from Hokage-sama, and it'll help in your training. I've agreed to help Iruka in teaching you in your sabotaged education while Hayate helps you in your kenjutsu in the morning."

Naruto's eyes widened, stopping mid-slurp, causing him to choke. After drinking a glass of water given to him by a chuckling Teuchi, he smiled, thankful that he'd met more people who cared for him other than Hokage-jiji and Iruka.

"Sure!"

* * *

**XI.**

The week passed, and Naruto grew by leaps and bounds. After some time passed, due to the wheedling of Yuugao, Naruto took to the habit of calling them Hayate-nii and Yuugao-nee. Of course, when Iruka started pouting due to it, he also started calling him Iru-nii. All in all, Naruto was happier to have family, may it not be of blood.

Hayate taught him in the mornings and evenings, when the sun wasn't high and there were less people around to see him practice his Keyblades. He taught him tactics in using shadow clones, several stances, styles, and pointers for his swordsmanship, and completed his chakra control exercises, finally making him capable of using normal bunshin.

As for Yuugao and Iruka, they taught him indoors when the sun was out, teaching him general tactics, manners, and shougi, getting him to read more books (using shadow clones, of course.), and to his chagrin, changing his eating habits ('But ramen is the food of gods!') using proper disciplinary force ('Those gods won't save you from me if you don't eat those vegetables in a minute!'). Naruto finally realized why Shikamaru called women troublesome after Yuugao took out that frying pan.

Naruto shivered due to those memories of angry women and painful headaches. Right now, that frying pan was just under the Keyblade, which was at the top much to Arashi's pride, in his list of powerful weapons he had ever witnessed and heard. And that was after what he had heard of the Seven Swordsmen…

Iruka on the other hand, used the frying pan differently. Having apparently decided to move in at Naruto's apartment, he took to teaching the blond how to cook. Much to the surprise of everyone, Naruto had the talent in cooking, managing to make Hayate cry in tears after comparing his dishes with Yuugao's.

Ever since that incident, Naruto could hear things bump at night, very much terrifying the young boy.

Little did he know it was Yuugao attempting to cook.

At the end of the week, Naruto could only stare in surprise at his apartment when he arrived. The furniture was refurnished, the entire building was clean, the cabinets and refrigerator were full of goods. And when he opened his closet, he came upon a black and orange version of his jumpsuit, strands and curls of flame at the hems, and storage seals in place of where his holsters used to be. Naruto gave both Hayate and Yuugao tight hugs before they left bidding him good luck and to sometimes visit. Walking down the hallway, he knocked at Iruka's doorstep before giving the man a hug of his own.

He then set upon creating a small feast in thanks for their help. Iruka chuckled about something like the couple missing the celebration.

Preparing himself for the following day, the Genin Graduation ceremony, he thought that so far, life was good.

* * *

Life was far from good.

When he arrived at class and went straight to the back to read a book on Fuuinjutsu, nobody recognized him. He attributed it to his new clothes, so he didn't really care.

Fuuinjutsu is the art of using any sort of chakra medium, may it be paper, ink, or blood, to some effect. Said effect can vary depending on the pattern and the intent drawn upon the seal formed by the art, and the strength of the art itself is dependent of the mind of its creator…

And so, Naruto continued on reading his father's notes.

That is, until Kiba realized who was sitting beside him.

"-and I was like, 'What the hell are you doing!', and the guy ran away like a scared squirrel. I'm sure it was because he sensed who the alpha there was." Kiba then reenacted his tall tale, that, Naruto was sure, and palmed towards his left, not having noticed Naruto was there. When Naruto was knocked off of his seat, book fallen to the floor, Kiba stood up to apologize, only to widen his eyes in shock.

"Er, sorry about tha- Wait, aren't you Naruto?! Why are you here- oh, wait is that a forehead protector I see? Woah, those are some cool clothes of yours, finally you threw away those horrid orange monstrosities of yours-"Here his wandering eyes fell upon Naruto's book. "WAIT, WERE YOU READING?!"

And with this exclamation, everyone turned to look in shock at Naruto.

"What?" Naruto stood up, rather peeved that Kiba didn't help him up. He picked his book again and sealed it in his storage seal. "Can't a person read in peace?"

Apparently this was the wrong thing to say, for Kiba's mouth started hanging open.

"Oi, Kiba? Oi, Kiba, Oiiiiii." Naruto waved his arms in front of Kiba. What happened to the guy?

"Naruto, he's just shocked that you were reading. Honestly, idiots are troublesome…" Said Shikamaru who was attempting to sleep behind him, annoyed that they were being so noisy. Mirroring Naruto's earlier words, he said, "Can't a person sleep in peace?"

Kiba snapped out of his trance when he heard Shikamaru call them idiots. "DON'T CALL ME AN IDIOT! And honestly, Shika-baka, you always sleep. But I can't believe Naruto, the person who seemed so allergic to ink and paper, started reading! Especially just after we finished Academy! Now if you Shikamaru suddenly start running laps, the world would surely fall apart."

Chouji, who had been watching the entire thing occur while eating chips much like how one eats popcorn while watching a good movie, went to Naruto and asked, "Well, Naruto, what were you reading anyway? Weren't you saying something just a week before the exam about you will never read books?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "It is kind of a long, long, _long_ story, Chouji. There was a huge mess right after we had those Genin Exams right?"

Shikamaru's eyes opened, now interested. "You mean the case about Mizuki-sensei and the stolen Scroll of Seals?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. He bent his head to the side. "How do you know so much anyway, Shika?"

Shikamaru explained. "My dad's the Jounin Commander. Anyways, continue. I guess that's the reason you were finally promoted to genin?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded again. "After that, Hokage-jiji finally told me about my parents. They used to be seal masters before they died before the Kyuubi was defeated."

Not exactly a lie.

"Tou-chan and Kaa-chan left a lot of stuff for me, including a weapon they left just for me. I couldn't just let their memories go to waste, can't I, Shika? "

Now that was a cover for the Keyblade. Since the prophecy wasn't exactly common knowledge, the Hokage thought that it would be best if he hid the fact that he had a prophesized weapon.

This only served to fuel Shikamaru's curiosity. "So, who are your parents?"

Now, this question sent warning signals in Naruto's head. He promised the Hokage he wouldn't tell anyone, Iruka notwithstanding because he knew already of the Keyblade, yet he can't just lie to Shikamaru.

People normally think of the Nara as lazy, but ever since Naruto took on playing shougi, he realized that Shikamaru was smarter than he pretended to be.

He had enough of Shikamaru's brilliant strategies in their past matches. Whatever lie he said would be seen through.

Rubbing his head in his nervousness, Naruto could only sigh in happiness when the gods provided him an escape in the form of two fangirls who screamed while entering the door. Ino and Sakura.

"I'm first!" "No, I'm first!" Their eyes wandered around the classroom, stopping in the sight of their crush, Uchiha Sasuke, who honestly was interested in what Naruto was saying.

"**SASUKE-KUN!**"

They ran up to the back where Sasuke was sitting, to the left of Naruto's seat. Since Naruto was standing too, they ended up ramming into him. The three of them ended up landing on their butts on the floor.

"Who the hell was standing in the way…?" Sakura whined, rubbing her sore bottom. "Wait, is that you, Naruto?!"

"Why are you here- oh, wait is that a forehead protector I see?" Ino snapped, unknowingly mirroring Kiba's earlier words. "Woah, those are some cool clothes of yours, finally you threw away those horrid orange monstrosities of yours-"

"Troublesome women." Shikamaru muttered, annoyed that the girls ended up interrupting his interrogation.

A vein popped in Ino and Sakura's foreheads. "Troublesome?! We'll show you troublesome!"

'Honestly,' Shikamaru thought as the hounds of feminine fury approached him, 'for rivals they can be so alike.'

Cue a few minutes of a beatdown session on the Nara from the righteous female rage of the girls and another grilling out session for Naruto. But when Shikamaru was about to ask again his delayed question, a swirl of leaves and smoke popped up in front of the board, leaving behind Iruka.

Seeing that nobody was paying attention, he formed a series of handseals before using his signature **Big Head** **no Jutsu**.

"**SHUT UP!**"

Everybody stopped talking and sat down their seats, both Ino and Sakura sitting beside Sasuke and glaring at each other, to the Uchiha's annoyance. Iruka told them a farewell speech before explaining to them the concept of four-man squads to the newly proclaimed Genin. Naruto took notes of who got who; he mostly recognized the Jounins that were announced as Jounin-sensei due to the several descriptions given to him by Yuugao.

The more important teams mentioned were those of his and his friends who had, to some irony, the Jounin-sensei that he didn't know much. First, his, Sasuke, and Sakura's team 7 (a fact that gave him mixed emotions and bad feelings) was under Hatake Kakashi, a man who Hayate told him about.

Next were the team 8 composing of Kiba, Shino, and Hinata, primarily a tracking team under Yuuhi Kurenai, a kunoichi he heard of from Yuugao as the Konoha's Genjutsu Mistress.

Lastly was the team 10 of Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji, this generation of the Ino-Shika-Chou that he read in his books, under Sarutobi Asuma, a person who he only heard of in passing from Hokage-jiji as his son.

As the teams other than his were being taken by their Jounin-sensei, with Shikamaru giving him a look and sigh meaning 'It's troublesome, but I'll continue later.' Naruto stood up when everyone else other than his team had left, preparing to leave.

Confused with Naruto's actions, Sakura harped, "Naruto-baka! Where are you going?!"

"I heard about our Jounin-sensei. He's rather eccentric to the point that he's always late to a meeting by three hours." He answered, walking to the door. "Want to eat? We have 2 and a half more hours."

Sakura turned to Sasuke, who nodded. He answered for both of them.

"Sure, dobe. Now tell me of that weapon of yours…"

* * *

**AN: Okay! Third chapter done! And done again!**

**The edit allowed for more interactions to shine through! I'm quite proud of myself, really.**

**Shit, I called for the flames, did I?**

**Sorry that this chapter is shorter and later than the previous one. I'm starting to lose my muse. I need more inspiration! Can you guys introduce me to some fics? Time-travelling fics are the best!**

**I planned on adding a new Keyblade, but I feel that Naruto is getting too strong too fast. So expect him to get a new one after two chapters, unless I change my mind.**

***pop, A chibi Naruto appeared!***

**"Yosh! This is... Bonds Unlocked: Omake:"**

***An image of a frying pan and chibi Yuugao is on the screen.***

**Cooking Time!**

"Iruka, you know, this is your fault."

The scarred teacher sputtered. "No it isn't! Hayate-san, if you just didn't make that comment..."

The formerly terminally sick man cut in. "If you didn't teach Naruto to cook!"

Iruka gave a sigh that showed past suffering. "It's not like I can just leave him not knowing how to take care of himself, you know!"

Hayate huffed. "I can't cook and I'm still healthy, right?"

"Says the person who was terminally-ill a week ago."

A spark of lightening met from the two men's eyes. Ever since Naruto started calling them his nii-chans they formed a sort of rivalry on who was the best older brother.

But that's not the point here.

The door to the kitchen opened like it was a wail from the deepest pits of hell. The two men shivered, already resigned to their fate.

"So is this the end?" Hayate commented, slightly hysterical. "Saved from my family disease, to die just like this?"

"Don't say that, Hayate-san!" Spoke Iruka, shaking the shoulders of his partner in fate. "I believe Naruto can still save us! He can... right?"

The swordsman's eyes wandered off to the corner where their saviour was. The blond kid was lifeless, tied, and for some reason had a huge red mark on his face. Probably the mark of a fry-pan.

"Kukukuku... Now, eat up!"

Hayate turned back to see Iruka, shaking like a leaf with a single dish of curry rice in hand. Yuugao was, admittedly nice to the eyes, with her pink apron and her hair let down like that. A flash of images not meant for children passed through his mind. Ah, good memories.

Wait, was that a perverted version of the whole life-passing-through-one's-eyes-in-a-flash-of-light? Hayate gulped. Perhaps this would be his death.

"Oh, Hayate! Eat your curry already! Too bad Naruto's unconscious, I guess he can't eat my cooking."

'The kid was unconscious because you knocked him out!' Hayate shouted in his mind. 'Oh Kami, why o why did Yuugao have to get jealous of Naruto's cooking?'

Hayate could swear he heard a chuckle and a 'Because it's fun!' in his mind. Damn, was he that close to death?

"O-okay..." Hayate took up a wooden spoon and attempted to take a single spoonful. The spoon smoked, turned black, and melted as soon as it touched the sauce. The two men shook once more. What would happen if they put it in their mouths?

"Hayate! You don't use a wooden spoon for curry! You use this!"

And with that Yuugao gave them each a steel spoon. Being a swordsman, Hayate knew that it was of the finest metals, normally used in making the best of swords.

"Mou..." Yuugao pouted. "Hayate, hurry up and eat it quickly! I do want my plates to survive, you know? Also, hurry in eating it after taking a spoonful. If the curry stays in them for even more than a minute, they'll rust, so just bite into it and eat up!"

Does this woman understand the horrors that she is talking about?

Shivering, Hayate did as he was told. Corrosive curry from hell or not, he didn't want to be at the opposite end of Yuugao and her frying pan.

Taking a bite, Hayate thought that it wasn't so bad, a little sweet, a bit sour, very spicy, and there is that aftertaste of blood as his tongue started to realize the concoction it was exposed to...

The two men crashed off their seats in the same time.

Ah... Mother, is that you?

"You guys are so cute..." Yuugao commented pinching Hayate in the cheek, not even noticing that the swordsman was as pale as death. "Don't sleep just after you eat, or else you'll turn into a cow you know?"

Meanwhile, Hayate and Iruka were enjoying some time in heaven with their dead parents, forgetting a single important thing. What was that again...?

"**CURAGA!**"

The two of them woke up in the same time. Were they having a dream? At first it was a nightmare, and then there was that vision of heaven...

"Nee.. nee.. Iru-nii, Hayate-nii, you can't expect to leave me alone here, right?"

Naruto was awake, and also had a dish of curry in front of him. Yuugao noticed them and came closer.

"Oh, Hayate, Iruka! You're awake? Want seconds?"

There wasn't a choice to say no in her tone of voice.

The two men (and twelve year old) opened their mouths and in the same time shouted, "**GAAAAHHH!"**

_Somewhere in Konoha_

"Hmm, Anko, do you feel that pain and suffering from somewhere in Konoha?"

The snake woman gave her boss a vicious smile.

"Yuu-chan is giving her boyfriend and Iruka-chan a taste of her cooking."

Ibiki, the man who managed to last several hours of torture without giving a single reaction, shivered.

"I believe that woman isn't meant for ANBU..."

Anko grinned. "What, you want Yuu-chan to cook something for you?"

Ibiki turned to his current torture toy... ahem, subject, a teacher who attempted to steal the Forbidden Scroll. What was it? Mizuki?

"Oh perhaps, just perhaps..."


	4. New Team, New Friend

**AN: Welcome back, young masters and mistresses! I'm also back, and with a new muse! Ah, Naruto and his friends were so cute when they were young… (I watched the Chuunin Exams of the series again.) Longest chapter yet!**

**Anyways, for those who would comment that there was bashing in my fic would be slightly correct, but it isn't my aim. I'm trying to add some perspective here, people, of how some people in Naruto's world see his team.**

**Don't worry. Soon enough, the bashing will go away, and they would be friends!**

**Edit: Applied the changes according to the addition of Arashi.**

**Chapter 4: New Team, New Friend**

* * *

**XII.**

Teuchi chuckled and Ayame smiled. It was a running gag for the stall that whenever there was a person who ate with Naruto for the first time, they would either watch in awe or disgust, sometimes both. And if that person was somebody treating the said blond, it always ended with that person crying. Even Hayate did wipe a tear when he arrived with Naruto and Yuugao that afternoon and left with one very full blond and one very much lighter wallet.

As for this time's rookies at the experience, it was a black-haired boy, the famous Last Uchiha, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura, Naruto's crush. (A fact that escapes his understanding, seeing that the girl only had eyes for the Uchiha and fists for Naruto.)

Honestly, Teuchi himself didn't care much for the boy's history and family, seeing that the said boy was very spoiled about it.

Look at Naruto, the son of the Yondaime and the Red Habanero (Yes, yes he knew that! With single glance at the kid, it was obvious, especially since the said couple was engaged in this very stall!), and he didn't act like a brat (Well, not that much. He's a nice kid really,) even after he was told of his own heritage.

And after seeing said Uchiha attempting to wheedle said heritage from the blond, Teuchi thought, 'It doesn't really help in his case.'

"I tell you, Sasuke-teme, it'll be a surprise for the team!"

"Hn. I guess that 'heirloom' of yours isn't so great, seeing that you aren't that proud of it."

"Shut up and just show it to Sasuke-kun, Naruto-baka!" Shrieked the Haruno. Honestly, what did Naruto see in her? All he sees is a harpy.

Naruto's eyes flashed with hurt before going away just quickly. "Sakura-chan, I'm not a baka. How would you like it if I called you Forehead just like Ino does?"

Sakura's eyes filled with warning. "Don't you dare try calling me that, Naruto."

Naruto once again was surrounded by an air of depression but this time didn't leave. He quickly and quietly finished his meal before standing up and leaving his pay, giving Teuchi his silent thanks.

"Sorry about it then. Meet you at the classroom in half an hour." He said, in uncharacteristic silent demeanor. "I'll get some things from my parents' house."

"Talk to you later, Sakura-chan."

After seeing the blond leave, Sakura huffed, mumbling, "If he dares ask me on another date, I'll be giving him one hell of a lesson." She then turned to the Uchiha. "Well, umm, Sasuke-kun, later, after we meet our stupid sensei, do you, umm," She looked down, fighting off a blush. After all, the future Ms. Uchiha shouldn't blush like this! "Go on a date with me!?"

But Sasuke was already leaving, answering with a monosyllabic rejection. "Hn."

Techi sighed. It looked like tough times ahead for Naruto. But he trusted the boy would make it.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, a man with silver gravity-defying hair arrived in a classroom expecting three annoyed Genin, but he didn't expect this:

Entering the room, he was suddenly blinded by a flash of light, leaving him disoriented. He recovered just to see his reflection in a mirror held by one of his possible students.

It was _horrifying. _

His clothes were replaced with a _pink_ copy of Gai's clothes, covered with _gold glitter._ His hair turned neon-green, and was moving like seaweeds.

And his book:

It was replaced with Icha-Icha – Yaoi!

Every adult within 500 meters of the academy would swear blind to their deaths that at that moment they heard a scream of sheer fear and devastation that would be the stuff of their nightmares.

"Sorry Sensei! It was all Naruto-baka's fault!" Said Sakura. But inside her mind, Inner Sakura was going "**YEAH! GO NARUTO! SHANDAROOO!"**

"Hn." Comments Sasuke, but looking carefully, one can see that he was shaking, trying to rein in his own laughter.

And Naruto is howling with mirth, and in between laughs, Kakashi could hear him choke out, "Mom was one hell of a prankster!"

'Ah, Kushina-neesan was the cause.' Kakashi thought. 'I knew that when Naruto ever found out about Nee-san's promise he would finish it.'

Said promise was made after his introduction to Jiraiya-sama. Kushina-neesan had warned him of terrible things if he ever took on the pervert's path of life.

Looking around, he saw the door covered with seals, probably of her design. To think Naruto would be able to duplicate the redhead's seals…

"First impression is…. I hate you all very very much. Meet me on the roof."

And with that he body-flickered to the roof, only to be surprised again because Naruto did the same.

"That Hayate has been teaching you a lot, didn't he?" Kakashi asked, rather miffed. He's the one who's supposed to be teaching Naruto this stuff! If only he would've been allowed to take Naru-chan in as a kid…

"Yeah, Hayate-nii did teach me many things. So did Yuugao-nee." Naruto answered, a smile on his face. Seeing Kakashi's pout, he quickly continued, giving the man a hug. "But I really wanted to meet you again, Inu-nii!"

Kakashi stilled. 'He recognized and remembered me?'

"I have my new nii-chans and nee-chan now, but I'll never forget my Inu-nii!" Naruto shouted before looking down in contemplation, hand on chin. "I don't know what would've happened if you didn't save me from those mobs, or didn't help me learn how to read."

He gazed towards Kakashi again, eyes full of gratefulness. "Hokage-jiji was one of the reasons, but Inu-nii was the real reason why I wanted to be a shinobi!"

"Naruto… I-" Kakashi tried to say, but the door from the stairs slammed open, causing Naruto to quickly pull away. Curse the 'good timing' of the rest of his new team!

"Tch." Muttered the just-arrived Uchiha, probably annoyed that Naruto managed to use the Shunshin. What did he expect, only he could learn these sorts of things?

"Naruto-baka! Don't just leave us there alone!" Cried the pinkette, who then suddenly looked contemplative, having an inner conversation with herself before quickly saying, "No, wait! You do that more often~"

'Can't wait for the introductions!' Thought Kakashi in a sarcastic manner. 'If that Sasuke dares go emo on me, Obito's cousin or not, we will have a problem.'

"Okay, my cute genin! Will you all please sit down and introduce yourselves?"

"How, sensei?" Asked Sakura.

"Something like names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, and such." Answered Kakashi. "Okay, pinky, you go first."

A vein popped in her forehead before answering, "My name is Haruno Sakura! My likes are…" Here she looked at Sasuke and blushed. "My dislikes are Ino-pig and Naruto-baka!" At this admission, Naruto looked hurt, causing Kakashi to slightly get angry.

'So someone dares to hurt my otouto…'

"And my hobbies and dreams are…" She stared even more into Sasuke and squealed.

Naruto whispered to the side, "What does she see in that bastard...?"

'Oh, this is going to be fun.' Kakashi thought. Turning to Sasuke, he then said. "Your turn, gloomy."

To this the boy glared before answering, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are some things I like and very many things I don't like. My hobby is training. I don't have a dream but an ambition to kill a certain man."

'Like I thought. Things are truly cut out for me if I pass this team.' Kakashi wondered before looking at Naruto. "Your turn then, blondie."

To this Naruto only smiled, remembering that his Inu-nii called him that when he was young. "My name is Uzumaki-" 'And also Namikaze,' Kakashi mentally cut in, "Naruto and I like ramen, Ichirakus, cooking, and my nii-chans and nee-chan! I hate arrogant people, " To this Sasuke glared, which was basically an admission for Kakashi, "people who can't tell the difference between a kunai and the scroll it's sealed into, vegetables," A victory for Yuugao, Kakashi heard. "And the three minutes it takes to cook cup ramen!"

"My hobbies are fuuinjutsu, gardening, training, and pranks! And my dream is to become Hokage and bring peace to the Elemental Nations!"

'He has certainly grown well, my otouto.' Kakashi thought before giving his own introduction. "My name is Hatake Kakashi, and I have a lot of likes and dislikes, my hobbies aren't for your hearing, and my dream? I had one earlier."

'We didn't learn a thing other than his name!' Sasuke and Sakura thought. As for Naruto, he had already heard a lot about his nii-chan from Hayate, who was part of the ANBU team with Yuugao that protected Naruto as a kid led by his Inu-nii.

Kakashi then explained to the three that, no, they still aren't genin ('But, sensei, we passed the Genin Exams!' Said the disbelieving Sakura.), yes, there is still a survival test with a 66% failure rate tomorrow, and:

"Goodbye, my ducklings! See you at 8:00 sharp tomorrow at Training Ground 7, and I suggest that you don't eat breakfast unless you want to puke. Tah-tah!"

And with that, he left.

* * *

**XIII.**

Sakura sighed. Sasuke-kun had already left, and she was left alone with Naruto-baka. Sure, he was much calmer now and less obnoxious, and his clothes were cooler too, and-

"**Don't go there, Outer!**" Cut in Inner Sakura. "**Your eyes are only for Sasuke-kun! Cha!**"

"Sakura-chan, can I-" Started Naruto.

"No, Naruto, I won't go on a date with you." Sakura cut in before he finished. She knew it, it was just another invitation for a da-

"I wasn't planning on saying that." Naruto said dejectedly. "Yuugao-nee once told me that I can't just ask a girl out without knowing her, saying that it makes me seem fake."

To this he bowed. "Sorry about what I did in the past, Sakura-chan!"

Hearing Naruto's apology, Sakura was shocked. But before she could open her mouth, Naruto continued, "So, can I be your friend first, Sakura-cha- no, Sakura?"

'If I agree, then Naruto would probably stop asking me for dates! I'll just have to slowly turn him down later on so I can have my Sasuke-kun!' Sakura thought. She then quickly answered, "Sure, but don't ask me for dates or flirt with me or anything, alright!?"

With that, Naruto smiled and nodded in agreement. "Alright, Sakura." He then turned and started to leave, his hands behind his head. "Oh yeah, Sakura, don't go just yet tomorrow until 10:30 at the training grounds! Also remember to eat, Kakashi-sensei didn't really order us not to. It was probably something to fool us! Remember to tell Sasuke-teme about it, okay?"

And with that, he body-flickered away. Sakura could only shake her head. How did Naruto know so much about their new sensei? She then prepared to leave, thinking whether to do what Naruto just said. Nah, how would Naruto-baka be correct about that sort of thing?

Little did she know that there was a silver-haired jounin smiling at what he had just seen.

* * *

Morning met two hungry prepubescent aspiring Genin in an empty training ground. They had been there since 8 am in the morning, and they were more than annoyed at their sensei. One of them, a boy, was also annoyed at his late teammate, but the other was rather regretful she didn't listen to the said teammate's advice yesterday.

"Good morning Sakura, Sasuke-teme!" Ah, he arrives. The newcomer looked at his waiting teammates and scratched his head. "Wait, Sakura, did you not listen to what I said yesterday?"

Arashi gave him a knowing glance in his head.

'**Did you really expect her to listen, master?'**

Naruto knew that she wouldn't listen, but he hoped that his actions yesterday were enough to merit some trust.

'No, not really. I hoped too quickly that Sakura-ch- no, Sakura would listen to me.'

Said girl looked at her feet. "Sorry, Naruto."

Sasuke then looked confused. He then glared at Naruto. "Is there anything that I should've heard? Or would you only help your…" He said this in distaste. "'Sakura-chan'?"

Sakura was panicking in her head. If Sasuke-kun hears that she was the reason he was here right now, pissed and hungry, then he'll never forgive her!

Sensing her nervousness, Naruto quickly answered, covering for her, "Yeah, why would I help you, Sasuke-teme?"

Arashi snickered. '**It's not like he would listen anyway, right?**'**  
**

Before Sasuke can say anything more, the last person to arrive appeared in a swirl of leaves. "Yo!"

"YOU'RE LATE!" Screamed Sakura who wanted to quickly remove Sasuke's attention from Naruto. It was the least she could do for what he did.

"Ma, maa... Sorry about that. My alarm clock broke, and on my way I came upon an old lady who needed some help to carry her groceries." Drawled Kakashi. "After that, I took down her cat that was stuck in a tree. I then rushed here only to get lost in the road of life."

'Wah... That was a lame excuse...' Commented Naruto in his mind, gaining a nod of agreement from Arashi.

"Anyways, my cute genin, let's begin our test!" He then pulled out two bells. "Take these bells from me within an hour. If any of you don't have a bell after that, you are disqualified for my team and immediately sent back to the academy."

Sakura only took a moment before saying, "But sensei, there are only two bells!"

He then eyesmiled before saying, "Then that means that one of you will surely go back. Now," He took out an alarm clock. (To this, the three genin twitched. Wasn't that supposed to be broken?") Tuning it to ring after an hour, he put it down before announcing, "The Bell Test will begin!"

And with that announcement, the three of them jumped away. To Sakura's consternation, Naruto appeared again just minutes after, saying something about a one-on-one challenge. She didn't know why, but she expected that he at least wouldn't-

'Oi, Sakura,' She heard Naruto's voice in her head. 'Can you hear me?'

'What the hell is this, Naruto!?' She thought back.

She could feel him mentally grin. 'It's one of the seals my parents left me. It's experimental, mind you, but it's safe to use, just that it has a short range. Have you ever thought about what Kakashi-sensei said?'

'When did you tag this on us, Naruto?' This time it was Sasuke-kun's voice. He was obviously displeased that Naruto managed to get something on him without his notice.

Naruto then answered just as mentally, 'When Kakashi-sensei was setting his alarm clock. Anyways, think why is there only two bells when we haven't heard of three-man teams in Konoha? Going to get busy, so figure it out first. You guys also might want to watch. Don't get envious now Sasuke-teme. Let's see if my 'heirloom' is worthless, shall we?'

She then heard clanging noises of metal from where Kakashi-sensei and Naruto were talking. It was just then that she noticed the odd weapon Naruto was wielding. 'Sasuke-kun, do you know what that is?'

'No, not really,' he replied. 'I guess that's the heirloom, and he called it a Keyblade earlier. He also explained to Kakashi that its name was **Phoenix Ashes**. Other than that, nothing.'

She could only gasp quietly when Naruto started adding fire in his slashes, giving birth to animals of fire. 'Beautiful…' She then heard Sasuke mutter quietly in her mind something about how could a dobe like Naruto would get such a weapon. 'Anyways, Sasuke-kun, I've reached a conclusion about this test.'

'It's a hoax, and its aim was to separate us.' Sasuke replied. 'The true test was probably teamwork. 'Tch, it's annoying that it's the dobe that realized it sooner.'

'Don't call me a dobe, Sasuke-teme!' Naruto snarled. 'Anyways, it's getting harder to distract Kakashi-sensei. Can you guys create a plan?'

'I already have one. Just don't mess it up.' Answered Sasuke. 'Now here's the plan…'

* * *

Kakashi was having fun. He didn't know that Naruto could fight so well, or that his weapon he had only heard of was so interesting. He then looked at where the other two were hiding. He noticed Naruto's communication seals of course, and he wanted to know whether the two would listen and realize what the true test was. He knew Naruto had realized ever since the blond's eyes glinted with understanding just before he started the test.

Seeing Naruto back up a little before smiling foxily, he hid his smirk under his mask. 'He did it. Now, let's see what they have planned.' Naruto waved his Keyblade to his side, summoning a dozen clones. 'Looks like he could do Kage Bunshin seallessly.' The clones then shuffled with the original before encircling him. They all then did two diagonal slashes, criss-crossing, forming a ring of fire composed of crosses of flame around him. They then all shouted. "**Phoenix**** Dance!**"

The technique was beautiful. From every cross, a medium sized phoenix formed, flying to towards him, forcing him to jump away. The phoenix then followed him, twirling in midair in some sort of aerial dance, leaving strands of flame from their tails, forming a cylinder of fire. Naruto's clones then dashed at him, attacking at the same time. Truly it was a testament to Kakashi's ability that he managed to block and dodge their attacks, especially with the phoenixes attacking from various directions.

As Kakashi was getting a little tired, he escaped using a kawarimi, teleporting to where a log used to be several yards from behind Naruto in some bushes.

"Was that all you've got, Naruto?" He taunted while making sure his voice was untraceable from his direction. "At this rate, you won't get a bell."

Naruto only smirked and directly turned towards where Kakashi was hiding. "Are you sure sensei?"

At that point, the air rippled beside Naruto causing Sasuke and Sakura to appear. 'Genjutsu?' Kakashi thought before immediately reaching for his bells. They were gone. He smiled and left his hiding spot.

"How did you guys get them?"

Naruto grinned while Sasuke smirked. Sakura blushed. "Well, it was a team effort. Sasuke-teme made and did the plan with Sakura while I was distracting you."

Sasuke snorted. "I first burned all logs in the area, leaving just one for you to substitute with when Naruto forces you to escape."

Sakura then smiled. "And after Sasuke-kun did that, I hid both of us nearby it with a genjutsu."

"All I had to do then was use one of my flashy moves to catch your attention and then, BAM, we got the bells!"

Kakashi then eyesmiled. "Then I guess you guys realize the true aim of this test. Come with me."

He took them to the Memorial Stone. Giving it a short prayer, he asked, "Do any of you know what this is?"

Surprisingly, it was Naruto who answered. "It's the Memorial Stone for our shinobi who died for us." Kneeling, he also gave a short prayer before continuing, "Jiji brought me here once after he told me about Tou-chan and Kaa-chan."

Sakura looked surprised by Naruto's words before looking at Kakashi, who was looking pretty somber. "Sensei, why are we here?"

"I'm going to tell you the words of my teammate who is also written here." Kakashi answered. "Listen to it, Sasuke, for it was from one of your cousins." With this Sasuke looked interested. "He was probably one of the rarer of the Uchiha, one who was loved by those who knew him yet scorned by his clan." Sasuke turned confused before realization dawned on his face.

"He told me before dying, 'Shinobi who fail missions are trash, but shinobi who let their teammates die for a mission is worse than trash.' His words made him a hero in my eyes, for he had one of Konoha's strongest Will of Fire. His name was Uchiha Obito." The Uchiha nodded grimly, having heard of him from his father.

"Here in Konoha, we don't let our wants and missions get ahead of our friends and teammates. We rose to be the strongest due to only one thing: teamwork. May it be the founders, the Sannin, or whatever team that Konoha had, they weren't powerful by their individual abilities, but of their teamwork."

"This Bell Test was designed by the Second who first used it on the Third's team, who then used it on his team of Sannin, which was then used by one of them on the Yondaime's team, and then," To this he turned his head to the stone. "Minato-sensei, the one who would be Yondaime," 'And Naruto's father,' he added. "Tested my team with on teamwork. And now, as the sole surviving student of his, it's my duty to test you on it, to see whether you guys can work as a team. And in my 7 years of searching for a Genin team, you guys are the only one to pass."

"Congratulations, Team 7, you are now formally Genin of Konoha!"

* * *

**XIV.**

"Team 6?"

"Failed. They didn't succeed in finding my markers fast enough."

"Team 7?"

The chatter in the room quieted. Hiruzen looked up from his list to Hatake Kakashi, who surprisingly wasn't even reading his Icha-Icha.

"They pass! They managed to understand the aim of the Bell Test, and they succeeded in taking the bells!"

There was an even sharper silence before people started making racket. One Mitarashi Anko was even going around shouting, "Open the windows! Are there flying pigs?! Is the sky falling?!"

Getting annoyed, Hiruzen shouted, "SILENCE!" The hubbub stopped. Forcing down a smile, he asked Kakashi, "Can you give details of the test? Even Team Jiraiya or Team Minato failed to get the bells, right?"

Kakashi eyesmiled, nodded, and spoke. "First, Naruto saw through the trick-"

"Wait, are you sure it was the Uzumaki, not the Uchiha?" Asked Yuuhi Kurenai, who was sitting between Asuma, his son, and Maito Gai, one of the more… _unique_ shinobi Konoha had.

Kakashi nodded, though slightly annoyed for being interrupted. "Yes, it was Naruto. He first formed communication using Fuuinjutsu between the three of them-"

"Wait, Fuuinjutsu!?" Asked a nameless jounin in the back. "Since when was the brat capable of writing seals?"

Kakashi glared at the interrupter, now slightly angry at him for calling his otouto a brat. "It's part of his Uzumaki ancestry isn't it not?"

When people started to mutter what this ancestry was, Hiruzen then provided a quick yet vague explanation of Naruto's Uzumaki ancestry that wouldn't damage his anonymity. 'It's best we get this over with so they don't ask too much questions when Naruto really starts showing his skills…'

Kakashi continued, "Whilst Naruto was distracting me, he explained it to Sasuke and Sakura, who then thought up of a plan. Naruto would catch my attention and force me to substitute to somewhere Sasuke prepared. Sakura would then hide herself and Sasuke under a genjutsu and take the bells from my person."

"And they succeeded?" Asuma asked. "Wouldn't you normally overpower Uzumaki or your Sharingan would see through whatever illusions Haruno made?"

Kakashi nodded. "But Naruto wasn't easy to overpower. He was using several fire attacks which probably doubled in hiding Sasuke's jutsus while he was burning the other logs in the vicinity. He also didn't allow me to use my Sharingan, not like I was planning to use it on them." He then eyesmiled. "His last attack was certainly flashy, causing me to lose attention on my surroundings."

"One thing I now know Kakashi," Gai said. "YOUR TEAM IS OVERFLOWING WITH YOUTH!"

"Yeah, I know, Gai. Yeah, I know."

"Anyways, my team 8 is next." Said Kurenai. "They pass. They managed to find me before the sunset."

"As expected of a future team of trackers from the Hyuuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame." Commented Hiruzen. "Any comments?"

"Kiba at first was annoyed at how shy Hinata was and how quiet Shino could be but after a while, they fit in together, with Kiba leading the way, Shino being the logical voice, and Hinata being the mediator between them." Kurenai answered. "Their teamwork can get better, but at this point, it's passable for new genin teams."

"Since Team 9 is still active under Gai," The mentioned man grinned. "How about Team 10, the new Ino-Shika-Chou?"

Asuma spoke this time. "As expected, the team passed after managing to capture me. At first, it was doubtful since Shikamaru and Chouji weren't that motivated, but Ino managed to pull the team together. After some failed attempts, Shikamaru took point and created a plan. The three of them first created bunshins that became decoys. He hid the fact that they were bunshins by placing them in the shadow of the forest and channeling his shadow in a hole made by Chouji. When I dodged, I was attacked by Chouji in the back with a **Bubun Baika no Jutsu **(**Partial Expansion Technique**), which I managed to dodge only to almost get hit by Ino's **Shintenshin** **no Jutsu **(**Mind Transfer Technique**), and when I thought that I managed to evade them all, I landed in Shikamaru's **Kage Mane no Jutsu **(**Shadow Mimic**** Technique**)."

"Sounds like one hell of a complicated plan." Kakashi commented. "How long did it take for him to make it?"

"Five seconds." Asuma answered. "The kid's a genius. I'm planning on giving him an IQ test soon."

"Expect Shikaku-sama's son to be just like him." Kurenai muttered.

"There are no more teams to confirm." Hiruzen said. "So this year's teams are Teams 7, 8, 10."

"You guys are dismissed!"

* * *

Naruto was practicing his Keyblade in his team's training ground. It was an hour earlier than the expected meeting time (which was actually two hours from Kakashi's announcement. All of them now learnt about this habit of his.). Normally, he would be here half an hour later than now, but he wanted to practice his **Playful Trickster**.

The Keyblade was different from his **Phoenix Ashes** in a way that it wasn't built for power but for speed. When battles with it were long, the high velocities the Keyblade sent him would start to make it harder for him to properly perceive his surroundings. That's why Naruto would create clones that would throw him small rocks while he was attempting to speed around them.

The training would help his perception and aim in high velocities.

In a flash of gold, Naruto appeared in the center of where his clones were scattered about. Normally, he would just increase the distance between his clones, but this time he would do things differently.

"Okay, guys! All of you, summon your own **Playful Trickster**! It's all of you, against me!"

'**Don't hurry yourself too much, master, or you'll get burned.**' Advised Arashi in his head. The sword spirit was currently rereading a book Naruto read earlier.

'Don't worry about it Arashi! You can trust me!' Naruto shouted in his head, to which Arashi only made a huff of disagreement.

Throwing up a stone as a signal, he and his clones formed the same stance. When the stone touched the floor, it was then a battlefield.

All of them accelerated in the same time, leaving behind flashes of gold. He had to twist his body: head back to dodge a horizontal slash aiming for his left cheek, torso turned partially to the left to dodge the two stabbing motions of two of his clones. In another flash of light, all three attackers were dispelled, but five more took their place.

It went on this pattern: he would move around quickly, dodging and countering the attacks of his clones that were moving just as fast. He didn't succeed in keeping himself unscratched, but his high regeneration made the damage quickly disappear. As more time passed, the difficulty for him and his remaining clones went higher, but the accumulated experience of his dispelled clones would've also increased his control.

It was 20 minutes into the battle when Naruto noticed somebody's presence. Appearing behind that person in a flash of gold, he was about to slash down, only to stop when he realized it was Sakura.

"Sakura! I thought it was someone else!"

"Uhmm, sorry, Naruto. I was just impressed with your training." Answered Sakura honestly. Inside, Sakura was floored. If she didn't know it was Naruto and if there were Hiraishin kunai on the field, she would've thought that the Yondaime was alive and training in front of her.

But seeing Naruto battle in such a way made her self-conscious. She originally thought that Naruto would be the weak one on the team, but from just that she understood that _she_ was the weakest of them three.

"Well, next time then Sakura," Naruto said, grinning, "You can spar with me. I also have some books on hand here. You can study them if you want."

"Sorry about it, Naruto."

"Don't worry about it, Sakura! What kind of teammate would I be if I didn't help?"

"And what kind of sensei would I be if I let my genin be without help of my own?" Asked Kakashi who suddenly appeared behind them, causing the both of them to jump. "Oi, Sasuke, get off that tree and come here already."

"How long have you two been here?" Naruto asked.

"I've been here since ten minutes before you found Sakura." Sasuke answered. "I didn't notice Kakashi-sensei arrive."

"I haven't been here yet." Kakashi answered, to the confusion of the Genin. "I'm a clone."

And with that, he dispelled, and the smoke was then picked up by a swirl of leaves, leaving behind Kakashi again.

"My clone has been here ever since Naruto arrived. While I was in a line to buy a new alarm clock since my last one broke again, I saw Naruto. I then sent my shadow clone to follow him. I must admit, Naruto, that fighting style of yours is eerily similar to my sensei's, down to the flash."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, this Keyblade of mine, the **Playful Trickster**, allows me to accelerate in a flash of golden light. It can be similar, but it isn't teleportation. Due to those similarities, I based my style on the Yondaime's, as you said, sensei." He grinned, resting his head on his hands behind his shoulders. "The fact that he's my idol helps a lot there!"

"From what I can see Naruto, it's your reaction time and observation skills that are put into the test when you use that Keyblade. I guess we'll be training that then." Naruto nodded. "Now then, my cute genin, it's time for your first mission!"

To this announcement, Sasuke smirked while Sakura was pumping her fist in determination ('**Shannarooo!**'). Naruto groaned to his teammates' confusion. Giving them a look of 'You would soon understand why.', he went ahead to follow an already skipping Kakashi towards the Hokage tower.

Oh this wouldn't be fun.

* * *

**AN: See what I did there? Basically I placed Naruto on the Friendzone to allow him to develop stronger bonds with Sakura, and had Sasuke grudgingly accept Naruto's abilities, though it is not to the point he wouldn't envy him.**

**Oh, you guys would see when it's a Sasuke's perspective. It's kinda difficult creating scenes where you would see the full extent of his envy.**

**THE TEAM 7 IS FINALLY FORMED!**

**I'm planning on soon having team interaction so expect a new aspect of the Keyblade on the next chapter. Still hasn't decided what yet.**

**Ta-ta! See you in maybe three days.**

**(TT_TT ;) Leave some reviews before you leave. (Please? *attempting Puppy Eyes no Jutsu*)**

**_(Minor edits made 4/26/14. Just some grammar and outline corrections.)_**

**_Edit Comment: A certain reviewer asked that this chapter was too chummy for Team 7. I don't have a problems with it, really. They're still unstable, Naruto just practically slammed the truth in their face, making them have no choice but to work together. NaruSaku friendship though, is developing._**

**_*Pop! Chibi Iruka appeared!*_**

**_"Class, this is... Bonds Unlocked: O. Ma. Ke!"_**

**_*A short animation of a crying Sandaime filing paperwork is shown*_**

**Key to Solving Paperwork!**

Hiruzen was busy clearing his stacks of papers for the day when Iruka suddenly bursts in, knocking down the stacks. Something in Hiruzen is torn as he realizes that he'll take an least an hour to file those again...

"Sandaime-sama! Sandaime-sama! I have something important to tell you!"

Hiruzen took out his pipe. What was it this time that Naruto did? Blasted the Academy to the color orange?

"Hokage-sama! Naruto came to me and told me the secret to defeating **_The Horror!_"**

Hiruzen suddenly stood up. Was it true? Has Naruto found the weakness of the being that plagued the Kages?

Strangely, the boy's father never shown any problem with it...

"Is it true?!"

Iruka nodded shakily. "Yes, Hokage-sama. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's so obvious!"

Hiruzen ignored the slight to his intelligence. He knew that even without Naruto here the boy could still indirectly insult him.

He waited for Iruka to tell him, but the man was searching for something in his bag. When Iruka took out a scroll, Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.

"Hoh, is the solution in that scroll?"

When Iruka shook his head, Hiruzen was confused.

"Just hold this and open it when I tell you the solution. You'll soon understand."

Hiruzen nodded. He was getting more and more curious what was this solution.

"Okay, Hokage-sama... I know that you told me hundreds of times about the horrors of paperwork..."

"Yes..."

"And I myself had been exposed to them dozens of times..."

"Yes..."

"And so Naruto became curious why we never thought of the solution."

"Yes..."

"And then he told me."

"YES! Can you just tell me already?!"

Iruka gave Hiruzen a compassionate gaze that made the old man feel that the chuunin had quite the same reaction himself.

"Weeell... Hokage-sama, Naruto asked, 'Why don't you use shadow clones?'"

Time froze for Hiruzen. Face expressionless, he opened the scroll. It had a seal inside it. Channeling some chakra, he activated the seal.

Taking out a huge pole. There was a sign, "For those who need to bash their heads for something stupid."

Taking a deep breath, the old man whammed his face in the pole.

_Meanwhile_

Iruka was outside the Hokage Tower. The many shinobi and civilians that normally came in and out were staring at the many ANBU that were attempting to enter the Hokage Office. There was a whacking sound of something hitting rock.

He sighed. He had a similar reaction. Naruto became mentally scarred because of that.

Hearing somebody take a _very_ deep breath, he placed his fingers in his ears.

"**GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!**"

That day was recorded in Konoha's textbooks as the day the Sandaime yelled, smashing everything made of glass that were within a 300 meter range around the Hokage Tower. Incidentally, there was a similar yell that was heard earlier in the day in the Academy, but that one was deemed minor because it only shattered glass objects within a 50 meter radius. Experts were asking themselves whether the two events were related, and how so if they were.

Only one thing they knew was that for some reason both buildings ever since then witnessed a 300% increase in efficiency ever since that day.


	5. Changes and Conversations

**AN: Welcome back! **

**Oh yeah, I realized this.**

**AHEM FOR ALL CHAPTERS, PREVIOUS AND CURRENT, I DON'T OWN NARUTO OR KINGDOM HEARTS!**

**Edit: Changed the party scene from mention to full description. Changed Naruto's performance.**

**Chapter 5: Changes and Conversations**

**XV.**

Uchiha Sasuke was livid.

When he arrived to that training ground for the Bell Test, he expected that he would be the one who would lead that damn fangirl and dobe. But when hours passed and his teacher and teammate still didn't arrive, he should've realized nothing will go the way he wanted.

First, he failed to see through his sensei's faulty instructions. When Sakura explained it to him later that day, he had to withhold himself from bashing his face on the wall. And the fact that Naruto saw through it was more reason for him to be the one who should've realized. He was an Uchiha!

Second, in the test itself, no matter how Naruto attempted to downplay his input (An action that fails to make sense to him,) he knew that it wasn't him, the **Uchiha**, who led the team, but that damn dobe!

And third, the fact that why was it who Naruto received such a powerful weapon, (Keyblade, he remembered,) when it would've matched him so much! A blade that creates fire and animals of flame would truly be the perfect match for the Uchiha Clan's flame jutsus!

Not for the last time, the question of who Naruto's parents was passed through his mind.

To think that he would be forced to enter his father's room (a place that always causes his nightmares) just to inherit his sword, just so that he could beat that dobe in kenjutsu!

He then planned to arrive 45 minutes early to their training ground (Kakashi Time) only to see the dobe wield _another_ Keyblade. This made him even more envious. The sheer speed, ability, and likeness of Naruto's newly revealed Keyblade to the Yondaime's abilities really grated at his nerves.

Why?! Why would those weapons be wasted with the dobe, not given to him, the Uchiha?!

And with those thoughts in mind he followed Kakashi (Not Naruto. He was merely first at following Kakashi.) towards the Hokage Tower. And when the D-rank missions were provided to them, he then realized why Naruto was grimacing earlier.

The nerve of those civilians, forcing him, the Uchiha, to do _chores_!

Though there was one mission that he refused to label as a chore, even though it was a D-rank.

"There it is, Sasuke-kun!" Shouted the pink haired harpy. Doesn't she realize that that beast would run away after hearing her?

"Tch." And with that, he went off, running towards the beast. To his surprise, he was being forced to channel chakra in his muscles to catch up with it. Probably with the history that _monster_ had, it learned to copy the abilities of the ninja that had fallen to its claws. Truly, a poetic enemy for the one who would wield Sharingan, the eye that takes its enemies' skills for its own.

Sasuke had heard of this beast from his family before they died. It was also the only thing that **man** feared. Truly, if he defeated it, he would be capable of defeating that **man**. But in his first attempt, he almost fallen prey for the beast himself.

Groaning due to the attack-and-run tactics of the beast, Sasuke continued to run, taking out a kunai. He would end that beast and take revenge for the fallen blood of his clan! He would-

"Oi, Sasuke. Don't kill now the Madam Shimiji's pet cat." He heard his sensei lazily say. He snorted. That isn't just any ordinary cat; it's a _demon cat_. But when he turned to see where it went, he hissed. Due to his sensei's damn distraction, the beast managed to escape.

No! How can he avenge his clan if it keeps running away?! Calming himself and turning the transmitter on again, he was about to plan a new strategy to catch the beast when-

"Duck-butt! It's Blondie. I managed to capture Tora!"

Damn it to hell.

Meeting at the extraction point, he arrived to see Naruto doing something that would forever mystify him.

He was _petting_ a sleeping Tora.

How the hell did he do that! Wasn't Tora the beast of hell, the undying cat of the Daimyo's wife?! Didn't he hear from his father, who heard from his, who also heard from his, that Tora would always be wild, rabid, and _dangerous_?

Sakura, who had been tending to his scratches, shook her head after seeing his expression. "I also don't understand. I may be the Number One Kunoichi of our batch, yet that scene would never make sense to me."

"Have you guys been telling me lies?" Naruto asked, placing Tora on his head fearlessly. "This guy isn't so bad! I was just walking towards Point C when he crawled out of some bushes into my arms. Before I knew it, it was already sleeping."

Kakashi, who had been reading his damned book for the nth time, only took a look at Naruto before eyesmiling in amusement. "Naruto, only you would be the one to tame the Tora, the cat who had scarred Kage, Jounin, and Sannin alike. Not to mention your efforts in our other missions. You were knowledgeable in herb lore-"

"Picking out the weeds from the herb garden of the Yamanaka." Sakura clarified.

"-capable of skills that can be used in infiltration-" Kakashi continued, not minding Sakura's comment.

'Capable of housechores.'Sasuke thought. 'Really, I know that those can be used in entering mansions of targets as house helpers, but still…'

"-and from this, animal taming!" Kakashi finished. 'If he managed to the same with the Kyuubi, all the more so.' He could barely hold in a chuckle when an image of a purring orange nine-tailed fox sleeping on Naruto's head passed through his mind.

"But Kaka-sensei, I'm tired of these chores they call missions!" Naruto whined. "When can we have a cool mission like saving a town from an evil dictator or something like that?"

"Learn patience first, Naruto." Kakashi admonished, although he was pleased in the inside when Naruto called him Kaka-sensei. 'Hah, Iruka! Naruto has been your student for years and he doesn't have a nickname for you yet. Who's the better teacher now?' A chibi Kakashi danced in his mind. Honestly, having a rivalry with Naruto's other nii-chans was almost childish, but he couldn't help himself.

"Anyways, let's log in this Mission now. Finding Tora: Complete!"

* * *

"Ooh, my dear Tora! Why do you run away from me?!" Madam Shimiji squealed, squeezing Tora very _tightly_. At the sight of this, Sasuke felt a sliver of satisfaction. 'Yes, squeeze it tighter and end the life of the beast that terrorized my clan. CRUSH ITS BONES!'

"Umm Shimiji-" Naruto started, planning on giving the lady a lesson about taking care of her cat. But to his surprise, Iruka stopped him by covering his mouth. The scarred man looked at the Sandaime and nodded. 'If Shimiji-sama continues on scaring away Tora, we would have more Find Tora Missions for our budget.' He looked at Naruto, who was trying to remove Iruka's hand. 'If Naruto continues to catch Tora repeatedly, we can have him catch Tora at least thrice a day!'

Sakura, realizing the same thing, shook her head again, an action that had almost became a habit to her. She looked at Kakashi, who was slightly glaring at the sight of Iruka being so close to his otouto. 'Kakashi-sensei really likes Naruto for some reason and at some times possessive.' She thought. 'He always gives this looks of envy when Naruto smiles at Iruka-sensei.'

Thinking that perhaps she had the unfortunate luck to get a pedophile sensei (Something that makes sense to her, given his reading topics and obsession on Naruto,) she shivered before asking, "Kakashi-sensei, we finished this mission early. What should we do for the rest of our time?"

Kakashi snapped out of his trance and eyesmiled at Sakura before answering, "We get another mission. We have a training session tomorrow with the teams of my friends, so we won't do anything too strenuous today."

With that announcement, Sakura relaxed. You wouldn't think of it when you see her teacher, but she and her team had some crazy training. Sometimes it was easy, like teamwork training, but when Sasuke-kun would ask for new training (Usually it was caused by Naruto. She noticed that her Sasuke-kun got envious really easily. 'If only he was envious of my attention,' she sighed.) like tree climbing for chakra control or supplemental skill training like learning how to use the Shunshin. (One of the first lessons of the team. It really helped in making the most of Kakashi's lateness to oversleep.)

He would also have them go on physical drills, saying something like 'I don't want to lose to that damn Gai…'

When Naruto started bringing in resistance seals to the mix, it was hell for Sakura. The boys had enough stamina, but she didn't! She had to pull her legs every day to bed. But the moments when Kakashi-sensei would allow them to release their seals felt heavenly. She never thought she was slow, but her speed without them felt _great_. It was nothing against Sasuke's or Naruto's though.

She also gained a new appetite now. When Naruto dragged his Yuugao-nee to the training grounds to help her get the lesson that she needed to eat more, she couldn't deny that the woman had some curves. She only had to have training while eating properly, and BAM, she's going to get a great figure. Well, that was what she said.

Iruka, also having heard Kakashi's reply, immediately removed his hand from Naruto's mouth, who then immediately started gulping heaps of life-giving air. "Kakashi-san, we only have one mission left for you. There is a party at Ms. Isana's house. The kids need some entertainment. Would you take it?"

"Sure." Kakashi nodded, walking towards Iruka and pulling both mission scroll and Naruto away from him. Iruka saw this and frowned. "Anyways, my ducklings! You guys may have a break, and let's meet in Ms. Isana's house in an hour! Remember to take proper tools and leave behind dangerous objects, so, dismissed!"

Before they managed to leave, they heard a woman scream outside to office, "No, Tora, no! Don't run away!" before hearing glass break and yowls of a disgraced cat. Iruka sighed. He then turned to Naruto again before explaining why he shut him up earlier. Nodding at Kakashi, he ordered, "Okay, Naruto. You have a solo mission of Catching Tora now. Whenever it escapes, you would be called to catch it if you are in the village. Just create a clone to get your stuff for your mission later. Understand?"

"Okay, Iru-nii!"

Iruka smiled. "Okay, dismissed again!" After seeing the genin leave, he sent a smug smile at Kakashi, who only gave a glare, meaning, 'Oh, it's on.'

Hiruzen chuckled. Honestly, Naruto always made things so interesting around here.

**XVI.**

Smiling while slashing away at the training targets of Training Ground 7, Naruto remembered the fun they had yesterday. In the party, when they arrived, the children were sitting around bored and weren't expecting anything fun from them. Seeing that, he immediately started a competition with his teammates on who will have the most fans after the day.

_Yesterday..._

Naruto was walking to the party with a smile. He honestly didn't understand why the other genin were so scared of Tora.

'**Makes sense that those closer to the intelligence of animals would gain their trust...**' Teased Arashi.

"Shut up, Arashi. You know, I liked it better when you all mysterious and everything..."

'**Aren't I still mysterious? After all, do you even know anything about me?**' Arashi whispered enigmatically.

"Hmmm..." Naruto stopped his walk. "Other than you're one heck of a sarcastic, sly, and powerful guy?" He had enough mental spars to know that after all. Both with words and blades.

Arashi smiled in Naruto's head like he was given a complement. '**Yes, other than that?**'

"Huh, I do know nothing about you..." The blond realized. "So, plan on telling me something?"

The inner swordsman laughed like he was told a joke. '**Tell you? No. I'll merely drop hints and hope that you get them in your head. I like more stuff here. Way too spacious.**'

"Seriously? You could play with those things?"

Before Naruto could hear a reply, an arrogant voice entered his ears. "Dobe, who are you talking to? Let's get this mission over with already."

Naruto replied automatically like he usually did against Arashi. "A voice in my head. My mind is so awesome that I can have hold conversations with myself."

When Sasuke's mouth dropped in surprise after hearing the heavy amount of sarcasm in Naruto's voice, Arashi chuckled.

'**Master, I believe I'm affecting you way too much. Oh well, it seems effective against the Uchiha so no loss.**'

Naruto smiled, not knowing that he was unconsciously mirroring Arashi's enigmatic smile and further startling Sasuke.

"Tora got your tongue, Sasuke-teme?"

Sasuke snapped out of it after hearing Naruto's insult, giving the blond a glare. Naruto only shrugged before walking towards the party.

Seeing Naruto walk away, Sasuke clenched his fists. There was something about Naruto ignoring him that irked him.

Why? Didn't he wish that the annoyance would stop bothering him?

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto, here!"

Sasuke looked up from his brooding. Sakura was waving towards them.

"Tch. "

* * *

Kakashi was annoyed.

Iruka convinced the Sandaime to confiscate his books for the entire mission, claiming that 'the kids in the party shouldn't be exposed to those sort of books!'

He snorted in disbelief. Those sort of books would be the dreams of those children in a few years! Why not let them have them now?

Something whacked the back of his head painfully. Turning around, he saw Naruto holding one of his Keyblades. He raised an eyebrow.

Naruto grinned in reply. "I had a feeling you were thinking of something perverted, Inu-nii."

Kakashi made an expression like a kicked puppy. His otouto was too honorable when it came to enjoying his books.

He would attempt to turn him, but the boy's other strict nii-chan (Iruka) and nee-chan (Yuugao) would deny him of the chance. Hayate was useless.

He attempted an eyesmile. "My dear otouto, you would do the same thing in a few years."

Naruto crossed his arms, chest out. "No! I won't become a deviant."

Kakashi cursed Iruka in his head. Said man in Konoha didn't know why he suddenly felt like burning a certain silver-haired man's book collection.

He sighed in defeat. "Anyways, Naruto. Whose performance is it now?"

The boy made a grin in reply. "Mine's next! Sakura made a performance using genjutsu and Sasuke used wire tricks or something like that."

To be more precise, Sakura used **Genjutsu: Ame no Sakura** (**Illusion Art: Rain of Cherry Blossoms**) and **Genjutsu: Sakura Daibakuha **(**Illusion Art: Great Cherry Blossom Explosion**) to create an image of a Cherry Watching Festival. Using her very same jutsus, she created fireworks and various animated short skits using illusion animals in the sky, finishing with a gold explosion at the end. The kids enjoyed the show very much, and many had attempted to catch the falling golden sparkles from the sky.

Sasuke on the other hand, went for bold and daring. Using a variety of pick-throwing and wire-work, he made a web of steel. They were entwined with gold strands, bought with money from his dead clan. He initially bought them for their conductivity to Raiton chakra, one of the paths Kakashi mentioned that he could use. But they were now useful for his performance.

As he did feats of acrobatics that awed the children, he shot his wires, making him seem to have wings. The act of placing them and making wire constructs were eye-catching enough, but he finished it with the simultaneous unraveling of the wires in such a way that made them seem to form one of those festive dragons during a pleasant summer. All in all, the children were in so awe that even their dazed applause had this aura of meticulous dominance.

But on the other hand, the parents that sponsored the party were a little unhappy about the hundreds of holes that littered their garden afterwards.

"Got any plans for your performance?"

The boy placed his hands on his hips and stood straight as if to announce something witty.

"Of course not!"

Kakashi face-planted. Pushing himself up, he saw Naruto's foxy grin. "So, what will you do then?"

"Wing it!"

"Naruto, it's your turn!" Sakura whispered from the stage. "Don't embarass us, okay?"

"Don't worry about me -_dattebayo_!"

* * *

As Naruto walked up the stage, he summoned his **Phoenix**** Ashes.** Though it was true that he didn't have any specific plan, he had a vague notion of an idea. It was one of his Yuugao-nee's classes in manners, the art of dance. He didn't have sufficient time to learn a single style, but to his surprise the woman was satisfied with the mere teaching of several steps, turns, and twirls.

He truly didn't know why.

It was a fact only known by Yuugao and Hayate, perhaps Gai, that the **Shadow Clone** jutsu not only helped in learning concious and active information like data, skill, or knowledge, but also in increasing one's subconscious muscle control. This in turn was the root of the **Mikadzuki no Mai**. It wasn't common knowledge, but Hayate's sword style wasn't named for his application of clones nor the movements of his swords, but instead for the fluid movements of its one and only user, Hayate.

It was only an accident that Yuugao's joke of forcing Hayate into a ANBU Prom Night turned into an active and famous sword style.

But this thoughts weren't inside Naruto's mind. Instead, he summoned several clones silently and positioned them into various locations. Using a smoke seal he constructed on the spot, he made a smokescreen to determine his entrance.

This was once more something which true importance had evaded Naruto's thoughts.

The 'smoke' seal, was in fact, just an ordinary storage seal tweaked to maximize the smoke output after unsealing whatever was in it. By overcharging this seal, it breaks the seal into conductive fine powder to be carried by the smoke. But the chakra had to go somewhere; and so the powder carries the excess chakra, accidentally creating a smokescreen capable of blocking the vision of doujutsu similar to the **Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu** (**Ninja Art: Hiding in the Mist Technique**).

But it was also unnoticed as the blond only took focus into his clones. With a mental message, he sent them out to the stage. Covered by the smoke, the clones went into action, slashing into the smoky air with their Keyblades, leaving behind ribbons of fire in the stage. And when the crowd's anticipation grew to a peak, the smoke dispersed, leaving behind a message.

**偉大うずまきナルトに歓迎! **(**Welcome the Great Uzumaki Naruto!**)

And then Naruto himself burst into action. With a very weakened **Fire**, he further dispersed what was left of the smoke and the message in a fiery entrance.

And then he started _dancing_.

* * *

Out of the many things Sakura expected, what Naruto actually did was out of her expectations. No... Exceeding them in fact.

She could have expected explosions, or flashy jutsus, or some of his clone sparring.

She could have even expected Naruto impersonating the Fourth Hokage and making a quick action-filled screen play of the 3rd Shinobi War.

But this... She didn't expect him to actually _dance_!

Even though this thoughts were passing through her mind, Sakura couldn't find herself taking her eyes from the blond.

His moves were actually quite simple, but in the application they were so marvelous and graceful that she almost forgot that the dancer was the very same boy who used to have one of the clumsiest gait that she ever knew.

But even those movements were outshone by his 'partners' in the dance.

As birds flew and twirled around his limbs, deer and wolf alike resting around his feet and at times going along the flow of his movements, even as a huge phoenix of great beauty did sang in its own aerial dance in tune with its master, there was no breaks nor uncertainties in the blond's movements.

His Keyblade, an object that would usually be seen as something weird, was strangely fitting for the dance, making Naruto seem to be the shepherd of the flock of various animals, all the while creating more of them.

And as Naruto finished his dance, his many flames animals came cuddling up to him, somehow not even singeing his clothes. And as if something snapped, every person in the area who were watching gave the blond a thunderous applause. She even found herself clapping along with her Sasuke-kun, but she noticed something dark in his demeanor.

Brushing it off, she watched as Naruto started to blush in embarrassment, unused to such attention. His various animals then popped in a burst of fire before flying away reborn as sparrows to the darkening sky as if given life to have freedom once more.

Needless to say, Naruto won the competition by a landslide.

**XVII.**

"Whoa, Naruto, those are some cool moves!"

Turning around to see the commentator, Naruto's eyes fell upon some people he hadn't seen for some time.

"What, Shika? Envious?" He teased, causing his pineapple-haired friend to groan.

"So, Naruto, that's your 'heirloom'." Ino stated. "Looks odd though. It matches you."

'**Though truthfully, I would like a smarter master.**' Naruto as always, ignored the jibe.

He grinned before answering, "No, it's just one of my Keyblades. This one's called **Fading Scars**. It's the first one in the many awesome things I have."

"Many?" Shikamaru asked. Ino butted in, pushing away Shikamaru, eyes filled with curiosity. "How many of those you have anyway?"

"Just three for now." 'And one that I haven't mastered yet.' Naruto answered before proceeding to summon his other Keyblades. The switches caused Shikamaru to widen his eyes in surprise.

"So you just summon them like that in a flash of light? Cool." Chouji remarked. "Anyways, do you have any idea where the others are? We thought we were late, but when we arrived and waited for an hour, our sensei still didn't arrive."

To their confusion, Naruto only chuckled at the question. "Oh yeah, you don't know Kaka-sensei? He's one hell of a lazy teacher, and always late to our training for at least three hours. So, I guess we are now actually..." He took a moment to do the math. "Early by one and a half hours! And I guess the other senseis would do what we normally do. Just arrive three hours after the promised time."

"EH!" Ino shrieked. "So Asuma-sensei didn't warn us so this would happen!"

"Troublesome. I could've used the time to sleep in." Shikamaru lazily drawled before yawning. "Anyways, if they're going to be late, I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when they arrive will you?"

"NO SHIKAMARU! IF WE CAN'T SLEEP, YOU CAN'T SLEEP!" Ino shouted in his ear, causing him to groan. Naruto with his enhance senses, winced. "And I thought Sakura was ear-splitting..."

"'Sakura'? Not 'Sakura-chan'?" Ino asked, looking for some dirt on her rival. "Oh, did she do something to finally lose your affection?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nope! We're friends now, and I promised I wouldn't do anymore stupid stuff like ask her for dates until I know her better. Speaking of which," He then stared Ino in the eye. "Sakura actually needs more friends. Many times I found her lonely before I walk up to her."

"Ino, I know you two are rivals for an idiotic reason of chasing Sasuke, but can you please make up?"

'**Not exactly the best way to phrase it, master.**' Arashi rolled his eyes in Naruto's mind. '**But, from what I've heard...**'

This caused her to go silent before grinning, "We can do that! I've read from one of the Clan Laws, the Clan Restoration Act, decrees that if a clan dies off, leaving a sole member, that member can practice polygamy." She gained a twinkle in her eye that scared the boys. "If she misses me, then we can go after Sasuke-kun together!"

'**Called it!**'

This announcement caused Sakura, who had been hiding in a tree ever since she hear Naruto talk about her, to fall off in shock of Ino's announcement. Though when Ino gave her a hand to pull herself up, she found herself agreeing with Ino.

"So, friend and comrade?"

"Sure, Ino!" This caused the girl to whoop and pull her in a hug, a scene that honestly creeped out Sasuke who was also hiding in the same tree. He body-flickered towards Naruto's direction and acted like he didn't hear anything.

Of course, the blond foxily grinned at him, giving him a look of, 'Good luck.'

Sasuke grunted, catching the attention of the two girls unwillingly, and they proceeded to hound him. The following minutes became a mess that caused Shikamaru and Chouji to sweatdrop before turning to Naruto.

"Ordinary day?" Chouji asked.

Naruto nodded with a grin. "Ordinary day." Though in the inside he was also slightly creeped out because the same law could pass for him, since he was the last of the Namikaze. After the warnings of Yuugao on the terrors of fangirls that would surely attack him when his heritage is announced, he could say that he sympathized with Sasuke.

He didn't know he already had a small fanbase due to his performance the previous day.

His ears twitched. Was it him or there was something loud approaching?

"SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!"

Wait, what?

Suddenly, a huge dust cloud billowed around them, causing them to cough. When Naruto finally regained vision, his eyes fell upon a familiar latex jumpsuit, though it was green, worn by someone who can only be called a horror to the eyes.

Hair like a helmet, black and shining on his head. Eyebrows so thick that you would think they were black caterpillars on his face. And eyes like a fish that had too much caffeine.

Those were the thoughts that were in his head when he saw Rock Lee for the first time.

* * *

"Hn."

"Tch."

"Hyuuga."

"Uchiha."

"Hmph."

"Will you guys talk properly for once?!" Naruto shouted. He turned to a girl with buns in her hair, with anime tears streaming down his face. "And I thought that he was getting better…"

She patted his shoulder, doing the same thing. "I understand your pain. Though it seems your teammate doesn't help at all in a different way than mine." She said, turning to look at Sakura, who was currently fangirling on how 'cool' Sasuke was against the Hyuuga with Ino.

"It can get annoying, at least it's tolerable." He added, "But Tenten, your teammate is..."

'**Don't call him weird or anything along those lines master.**' Arashi chastised. '**It can be considered rude.**'

"Just say it that he's weird. He doesn't mind." She told him. "And if you think he's odd, imagine our 28-year old sensei that is his clone."

'**Oh**.'

Naruto shook. "Good thing we have Kaka-sensei."

'**So it was good that you guys have an irresponsible, always-late flake of a teacher?**' Arashi deadpanned. Naruto didn't even bother defending a lost cause and continued his conversation with Tenten.

"Anyways, which team are you?"

"Team 9, the taijutsu specialists." She answered. "Neji over there is one of the Hyuuga, while Lee who is now busy attempting to force Shikamaru in the path of youth," To this, Naruto sweatdropped as he saw Shikamaru attempt to escape the notice of Lee. "specializes in our sensei's taijutsu style. And I'm Higurashi Tenten, a weapons specialist."

"Well, as for us," Naruto started, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and Sasuke-teme over there is the _great_ Last Uchiha, and Sakura over there specializes in Taijutsu and Genjutsu. As for me, you can say I'm a fuuinjutsu and kenjutsu specialist who has a knack for clones."

"Fuuinjutsu and kenjutsu? Sounds just like me." Tenten said, pulling out her scrolls. "Though my fuuinjutsu is more just for portable storage than anything anyway."

"Well, my fuuinjutsu is the flexible application of seals in traps, communication, weaponry, and sealing." Naruto robotically replied, repeating his father's notes. "As for my weapon," he summoned his **Fading Scars**, much to the annoyance and envy of Sasuke, something that interested Shikamaru. "This is one of them. It's my **Fading Scars**."

Tenten was basically starry-eyed in the sight of the weapon. "Wait, is this one of the Keyblades I've heard from Gai-sensei?! I've heard that each of these blades have their own special ability! This one's what?"

"Sorry, can't tell ya." Naruto teased. "Kaka-sensei told me to hide their abilities, though I can tell you that only I can use them."

"What do you mean?" Tenten asked, rather miffed that she wasn't able to learn anything.

"Here, try taking it." Naruto said, holding it out for her to take and ignoring Arashi's mumbles about '**Such an** **irresponsible** **master**' or something like that. Seconds after she took it, it only returned to Naruto's hand. "The Keyblade only allows me to wield it. You can say it's a part of me."

'**I feel _so_ happy you consider me part of you master.**' This time, there was actually no clear tone of sarcasm, but more of something important that was partially told.

Naruto mentally filed that as Clue #1.

Hearing Naruto's announcement, Sasuke grunted. So whatever plans he made to take it would fail!

Tenten sighed. "Well at least I know something." She looked at the sun. "It's around the time the teachers should arrive, and one of the teams isn't here yet."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. "Kaka-sensei didn't really explain things to us."

"Asuma-sensei also didn't tell us anything." Chouji added in between bites of his chips.

"Well, from what I've heard, we're supposed to have some sort of one-on-one competition." Tenten explained. "I'm not sure about the rules, though."

"Troublesome." Shikamaru commented, having finally driven off Lee. "We of the Ino-Shika-Chou aren't really for one-on-one battles..."

"WE JUST HAVE TO LET OUR FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN IN THE PRESENCE OF RIVALRY!" Lee shouted. "I'm sure, Shikamaru-kun, that you would be capable of being a worthy opponent!"

"Try Naruto, not me." He replied. "I'm not really burning with motivation right now."

"Oi! Isn't that Shikamaru? Hinata, Shino, hurry up already!"

"Or that guy. I guess he's motivated enough." Shikamaru said, pointing to the direction of the incoming person.

"Wait, Kiba-kun!"

"Kiba is truly unsuited to be a shinobi. Why? Because he-"

"Just hurry up!"

Naruto turned to see a white and brown puppy jump towards him, barking. Going a few steps back in surprise, he was knocked down by Akamaru. After pulling himself up from a painful meeting with the ground, he then noticed that Akamaru was sleeping on his head.

"Huh, strange, do animals do this often?"

'**I told you master, you are so close to their mental levels that they quickly like you.**' Arashi once more spoke. '**Ah, I see master you are indeed catching my hints...**'

"Oi, Naruto! Thanks for holding Akamaru for me." Kiba shouted, running to a stop right in the face of Naruto. "Here, Akamaru, come back." He said, holding his hands out.

But Akamaru was still sleeping.

"Animals really like Naruto for some reason," Sakura spoke to Ino who was watching them. "Did you know, even Tora likes him! He just walked up to him and fell asleep in his arms!"

"EHHH! THAT'S UNFAIR! AND WE HAD TO CHASE HIM AROUND THE ENTIRE DAY!" Ino exclaimed.

"Huh, so that's why the Finding Tora mission is now always booked for someone else…" Shikamaru muttered at the side.

Lee, hearing Sakura and Ino's conversation, shouted, "Naruto-kun is overflowing and overwhelming with youth!"

Somebody poked Naruto's shoulder, causing him to turn, much to the aggravation of Kiba, who still hadn't been able to wake Akamaru. He came face to face to an increasingly blushing Hinata.

Arashi chuckled for some reason Naruto didn't know.

"Oi, Hinata! How have you been?"

After getting no reaction, Naruto looked closer, causing her to even go redder.

The inner chuckling was getting louder. Naruto still ignored him.

"Huh, Hinata? Your face is getting red…"

This time, it was full-blown mental laughter from the sword spirit. When Naruto gave him an agitated glare, he spoke slyly.

'**Well master, why don't you check if she's sick or something?**'

Naruto didn't trust the spirit, but he still placed his hand on her forehead, causing it to go spicy red, ending with him comically pulling it away like it was a hot pan.

"HINATA, YOU'RE BURNING! Do you have a fever?! Oi, Hinata, Hinata… Hinata…"

She fainted.

"Don't worry Naruto, she's not sick." Sakura spoke, walking towards Hinata. Honestly, if he really wanted a girl's affection, why doesn't he notice Hinata's glaringly obvious crush on him?

"She's weird…" Naruto commented, to the sweatdropping of those around him. "Ah… I guess I better show it now!"

'**You're just happy you have a reason to boast about me again, aren't you?**'

He pulled out his **Fading Scars** again, to the widening eyes of Kiba. "**Esuna!**"

An orb of white light shot out of the Keyblade towards Hinata, covering her and returning her pale complexion. Blinking her eyes, she woke up, speaking in an almost inaudible volume "What was that, it felt so warm…" Completely waking up only to come face-to-face again with a grinning Naruto, she fainted again.

Watching the entire thing happen, Shikamaru sighed. "Naruto, you are so troublesome… Anyways, was that the ability Tenten spoke of? Healing?"

Finally convinced by an amused Ino that yes, Hinata would be just fine, and yes, Shino would take care of her, Naruto spoke again. "Yeah, this Keyblade is basically support." He muttered under his breath, "Though there was one more ability it had…"

A huge cloud of smoke suddenly appeared out of nowhere, causing the twelve genin to stop and start coughing. After it lifted, it revealed to them their four teachers, sitting on chairs. On the left was Kakashi and Asuma, and on the right was Kurenai and Gai. And in the center with a billboard behind him was Hayate.

"Now that everyone's here," Hayate started in an announcer's voice (something that he found out he did very well ever since he got cured), "let's start the Konoha 12 Free-for-All Tournament!"

This caused uproar from several of the noisier genin, namely Ino, Naruto, Sakura, Kiba, and Lee, although he was just screaming about the youthfulness of it. With a flash of killing intent, Hayate successfully silenced them.

"Well, let me explain first. It started this way…"

_At some bar somewhere in Konoha, a few days ago._

"Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had been growing nicely…" Kakashi started. "At first, I was tempted to just leave them with teamwork exercises and chakra control," This caused Kurenai to pop a vein in annoyance, "but since Sasuke had been so competitive with Naruto, I ended up giving them that and other things, like taijutsu drills and supplementary skills…"

"Good for you then," Asuma muttered, drinking a cup of sake. "My team don't have motivation at all! They have good teamwork, but the two boys don't like training while the girl is too busy nagging them to train herself! Not to mention her fangirl tendencies…"

"Honestly Asuma, you should snap them out of it." Kurenai commented, pulling the cigarette from his mouth. "Don't try defending yourself. I know that you are also usually too busy playing Shougi with Shikamaru to train them when I pass by. My team's going just fine, though there is still some animosity between Shino and Kiba."

"My team is as youthful as ever!" Gai shouted, causing him to be hit in the head by the annoyed bartender. "Lee and Neji are going just fine, and Tenten is wonderful with weapons!"

"Then why don't you guys hold a competition or something?" Asked Genma, who was sitting at the other side of the bar.

"Call it the Konoha 12 Free-for-All Tournament!" Izumo continued. Kotetsu added, "And the team that has more winners win!"

"That's not a bad idea…" Said Hayate, who was sitting next to a blushing Yuugao (she was a lightweight), "it's good training for the upcoming Chuunin Exams. If they seem good enough, you guys can decide to enter them."

"I'm sure my team will do fine." Kakashi commented, looking at Asuma. "I think your team can gain some motivation after some sparring."

"I agree. How about you Kurenai?"

She answered, "I also think my team will do fine. They're currently good enough, but experience with other sparring partners will help."

"I'm sure my team's youthfulness will win them this tournament!" Gai shouted. "Why don't we add a bet!?"

"Well, I have an idea…"

"We then decided that whatever team wins would gain this jutsu scroll collection that we made," Hayate finished, unsealing a bag filled with scrolls. "And whoever is last would be trained by Gai!"

"Oi, Hayate, we finished building it!"

Raidou, Genma, Kotetsu, and Izumo walked towards them from where Naruto could see several tournament seats were prepared. He sweatdropped. 'They sure put it a lot of effort in this…'

"Our cute little genin, make us proud!" Kakashi shouted.

Kurenai was whispering to Asuma. "You know, when we were talking about this, I didn't plan for it to go to this extent."

He whispered back, "Well, it would help them for when they manage to enter the Chuunin Exam Tournament."

"GO MY YOUTHFUL TEAM!"

All of the genin except Team 9 sweatdropped.

"Now, let's begin the tournament!"

**AN: This chapter is basically a filler chapter for the fighting tournament.**

**I don't like how I ended this chapter. It seems kinda forced… Meh.**

**Anyways, expect Naruto's new Keyblade in the next chapter! I have plans for it… Kukuku…**

***Wild Chibi Naruto appeared!***

"**No! Bad author! Don't be PedOrochi!"**

**Sorry, sorry…**

***Chibi Naruto turns once more to screen.***

**"With that done... Bonds Unlocked:"**

***Summons the **Phoenix Ashes **and slashes a word in the air.***

**"O-MA-KE!"**

***image of a log with people praying to it is shown***

**Religion Time!**

Naruto barged in the door of the Hokage Office.

"Ji~ji! What are you doing~"

Yet when he entered, the office did not only contain Hiruzen. All of those inside turned to the newly-arrived blond.

All the windows were closed and the lights were off. There was candles lit all over the place and all of the office supplies were nowhere to be seen.

At least a dozen adults were praying to a log. They were the clan heads.

Yet when they turned, their eyes were empty and glassy, their voices in a trance-like state.

Obviously Naruto was creeped-out beyond belief.

"Ah... Oops, sorry for barging in. I'm going away now. Hahahaha..."

Immediately, Hiruzen was behind Naruto, hand on shoulder.

"Hmmm... I guess not, Naruto-kun." Said kid immediately attempted to escape. This was too weird even for him! "Why don't you join us?"

"Ah, jiji..." Naruto choked out. "Can I just leave?"

Hiruzen chuckled. "No Naruto-kun. You'll learn the glory that is the Log."

"Ahahaha..." Naruto shivered before using Kawarimi to escape.

It only made Hiruzen smile. "Great Naruto-kun, you are learning."

People around the Hokage Tower would ask each other what sort of prank Naruto had done now to make all of the clan heads and Hokage chase him around Konoha while laughing. The adults that is, not Naruto. The boy was terrified out of his wits.

**Anyways, see you next chapter!**


	6. Tournament PT 1

**AN:** **I'm back!**

**Sorry about the hiatus guys, I've been busy with some things. Ah, the road of life…**

**Those who are planning on entering a college next year for the first time, don't underestimate the process! Especially for my particular college, well known for its nickname that can be translated as University of Lines and Waiting. I'm writing this now while on a vacation trip, so expect a quick update after this!**

**To those who may perceive the formation of a NaruIno pairing here, don't get your hopes up. I don't ship them together; I like them more of like brother-sister, or play-fangirlism.**

**Edit: Minor edits on grammar and characterization, as always added an omake.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Kingdom Hearts. I don't want to be chased down by an angry Hinata or Organization after all…  
**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Tournament PT 1**

**XVIII.**

"Our Jounin sensei are enjoying this, I know it!"

"Shut it, Ki-baka!"

'"What was that, you stupid blond!"

"Kiba-kun, Ino-san, please don't fight…"

Shikamaru and Sakura simultaneously shook their heads. Realizing that, they gave each other a suffering grin.

"If we ever fight, let's make it a sportful match, ok?" Sakura asked.

"Can't promise," Shikamaru smirked. "We **are** ninja after all."

"Too bad it didn't work, then?" Sakura smirked back.

* * *

"Whoa, dude, stop it with the yelling!" Tried to shout the anguished Naruto. "Enhanced sense of hearing here!"

'**Ah, I remember the times when you were the loudmouth.**' Arashi reminisced. '**Isn't it ironic?**'

'You aren't helping with the noise.' The boy grumbled. 'Can't you tell me some way to shut him up?'

"Sorry about Lee." Tenten apologized. "He always gets like this… I wish we knew a way to shut up both him and my sensei sometimes…"

Naruto turned to her. "Have you ever tried telling them that shouting in people's ears is 'unyouthful'?"

Tenten sweatdropped. "That might work…" She walked up to Lee and started a conversation. After a while, Lee looked sufficiently cowed and started restraining himself from shouting.

Naruto felt a tap on his back; he turned to face Neji, blank façade gone to show a history of deep-seated suffering. In a truly emotional voice he said, "Thank you."

It was the blond's turn to sweatdrop. "Don't mention it?"

Neji nodded.

* * *

"Hey, Shino."

"Yes?"

"…Nothing."

"Okay then, Chouji-san."

* * *

They heard the sound of a gong being struck. They turned to see Anko beside one with a shit-eating grin on her face very similar to Naruto's. They then turned to look at Hayate and Yuugao standing in the middle of an arena, both holding microphones while the rest of the Jounins, Chuunins, and Special Jounins involved in the planning were sitting on the judges table.

In the seats, there were several ANBU and the Hokage himself. Konohamaru was also there with his two new friends, all of them cheering for Naruto.

"They sure put a lot of effort in it…" Naruto commented.

'**Well, essentially, your teachers turned your training into their entertainment after all.**'

"I've heard that there was a betting pool, several shops and stands, and a very active participation by the Hokage involved." Ino added. "It became like this just because of those..."

"Ahem, welcome to the Konoha 12 Free-for-All Tournament!" Hayate announced. The audience raised an applause. He raised his hand. "Thank you for coming here to watch our genin duke it out today on one-on-one battles. It started with a bar discussion and developed into a full-scale event, but the actual purpose is to see the development of our genin a month and a half from their graduation!"

"Gai-san also put in his team to the competition, aiming to spice it up." He nodded to Anko. She grinned and hit the gong again.

"NOW, LET THE TOURNAMENT BEGIN!"

'Hayate-nii really enjoys in playing emcee ever since he lost his cough.' Naruto sweatdropped. 'Meh, who cares about it!'

* * *

**First Match, Aburame Shino vs Uchiha Sasuke**

"Give up, Shino. You may be strong, but you won't win."

"Let's see about that."

Shino sent a small swarm of bugs towards Sasuke, only for him to burn them down with a fire jutsu. Forming a Ram seal, he shouted. "**Kai!**"

Yuugao asked through the mike. "Kakashi-senpai, may we ask why Sasuke did that?"

He answered, "Well, Naruto had been experimenting on resistance seals, so I took them for my team's physical training. It really helped in building their stamina and speed to the levels I wanted."

Gai shouted. "Curse you Kakashi and your seals! I shall also then commit my team in training with them!:

Tenten and Neji shuddered while Naruto gave them a sheepish look.

Sasuke then proceeded to engage Shino in taijutsu combat. Being an Aburame, Shino was incapable of fighting on par with Sasuke, so he immediately used a **Bug Kawarimi**. The bugs left then immediately attached to Sasuke, who merely used a simple defensive fire jutsu to burn them off.

"Told you, Shino. Now give up." Forming a chain of handseals, he shouted, "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**"

A huge ball of flame shot out of his mouth, aiming for Shino, forcing him to once again use a **Bug Kawarimi**. Shino reappeared exhausted from the jutsu, raising his hand.

"I give up. Sasuke-san is right. I've already lost half of my colony."

* * *

Kiba whistled. "Too bad for Shino. I know the feeling. I wouldn't let any battle be above Akamaru's health."

Said puppy barked on his head before giving his face a lick.

"You're welcome, buddy."

* * *

Yuugao once again spoke. "Well, Kakashi-senpai and Kurenai-senpai, may I ask your opinion on the battles?"

"Sasuke used the typical anti-Aburame strategy. Use elemental jutsus to defeat their bugs then engage them in taijutsu to tire them out." Kakashi commented. "But it doesn't work on veterans."

"True." Kurenai added. "The older Aburame have bugs that number on hundreds of thousands, so using jutsu to exhaust them is inefficient. Not to mention that after Chuunin, most of them either go into weaponry or taijutsu in order to sufficiently cover for their close-quarters weakness."

"But in a genin match, it is acceptable."

* * *

**Second Match, Rock Lee vs Akimichi Chouji!**

"YOSH!" Lee shouted before sheepishly rubbing his head after Tenten gave him a glare. "I won't lose!"

He then proceeded to triple-frontflip towards the center of the arena.

"Gai, you have one heck of a protégé." Kurenai sweatdropped.

"More like his clone." Kakashi muttered. He then proceeded to observe Asuma attempt to convince Chouji to enter the match.

"Please?" Asuma valiantly tried to use the **Puppy Eyes no Jutsu**.

"No, Asuma-sensei. And that looks kind of creepy…"

"I'll treat you to yakiniku, all-you-can-eat~"

Chouji suddenly became pumped up. "YOSH! FOR YAKINIKU!" He then proceeded to _cartwheel_ towards the center of the arena.

"He's truly an Akimichi through and through…"

* * *

"Kotetsu, what do you think?"

"From what I've heard, this would be a really overwhelming match against the Akimichi scion." Kotetsu answered. "The Akimichi depend on the momentum of their attacks, but they're really slow. And we all know that-" He turned to look at Lee who was doing several sets of push-ups, much to Tenten's exasperation, "Gai's protégé wouldn't even let them touch him."

Chouji started the match with one of his signature jutsu.

"**Nikudan Sensha!**" Chouji morphed into a huge ball, bulldozing towards a waiting Lee. But at the last moment before the impact, Lee disappeared only to show up in the air at the left of Chouji.

Chouji attempted to turn, but when the back of the ball was in Lee's vision, he immediately countered. "**Dynamic Entry!**" He shot out of the air, planting his foot at Chouji's back, causing the boy to fly to the adjacent wall.

* * *

"Hoh, I guess Gai taught that Lee well." Kakashi commented, causing Yuugao to turn from the match in a questioning manner. He answered to unspoken question.

"He used redirection tactics, one of the Akimichi Clan's banes. Similar to how you swipe away a punch towards a different direction, he kicked Chouji with enough force to make him lose control of his jutsu."

"As expected of my rival," Gai acquised. "True, the Akimichi are famous for their devastating attacks that are comparable to the great Tsunade, but their huge bulk makes them easy to deflect if you have enough speed."

"And speed, my dear pupil has in spades."

* * *

Chouji was attempting to smash down Lee while using **Baika no Jutsu**, but Lee would only deflect them at the last moment, tiring him out and knocking him off balance. True, Chouji's body was hardy enough to withstand Lee's quick but powerful strikes, but he couldn't endure the damage when his own weight was used against him.

"I apologise, Chouji-san, but I have to end this match." Lee flickered to Chouji's back while he was in the middle of one huge haymaker. He placed his arms around Chouji's waist before throwing him backwards towards another wall. "Please give up."

Chouji was seeing stars. "I… give… up." He fainted.

Naruto sighed, raising his hand to gain the judges' attention. "May I help with his recovery? Please send him to the medic's tent, I'll send a clone to heal him."

Hayate took a look at Kakashi and the others, who then nodded. "You may do so. But the next match is yours, Naruto."

"Okay then, just give me a moment to make one clone, Hayate-nii!"

* * *

******XIX.**

**Third Match, Inuzuka Kiba vs Uzumaki Naruto!**

"We're in luck, Akamaru! We got Naruto!"

A vein popped in Naruto's forehead. Arashi laughed.

"What was that, Kiba? Luck, was it? Well, cry over yours later after you lose."

The same then happened to Kiba, who proceeded to glare sparks at Naruto who returned them.

Hayate facepalmed. "Naruto, sometimes I don't know whether you matured or not..."

* * *

"Sorry about this, Kurenai, especially after Shino lost to Sasuke." Kakashi whispered. "But my otouto would beat the hell out of Kiba."

"Don't worry about it Kakashi, I was hoping someone would do it for me." She answered back coolly. "Kiba is too proud for his own good, and Naruto would be able to teach him that lesson."

* * *

"I have to watch this."

"Whoa, Shikamaru! For once you're determined for something other than sleeping!" Ino exclaimed. "Why are you so…?" She noticed a serious, but surprisingly wistful air around him, "Serious about it?"

"Think about it, Ino. How many seal masters does Konoha have?"

"Well…" Ino tried to remember her education. "Aha! Currently we only have one, the Toad Sage Jiraiya, the teacher of the Yondaime! My father told me he was a pervert, but why do you ask?"

"Naruto told us **both** of his parents were seal masters when one was so rare." Shikamaru explained. "And now, he reveals the Keyblade as a heirloom of sorts. Now then, why haven't we heard of them?"

"I don't know…"

"There can be only one reason." Shikamaru answered for her. "His parents were so legendary that since they died, the Hokage had to hide Naruto's heritage."

"And so, I took on some research on seal masters that have died in the Kyuubi Attack. And surprisingly, there were only two seal masters that died that day, two of which were rumored to have been romantically connected. Naruto also shares a striking resemblance to both of them too, especially with the male."

Ino gulped, this could be the greatest secret yet.

"Ino, promise me. To never **ever** spread what I'm going to tell you." Shikamaru said in a serious tone. Ino nodded. "That day, the only seal masters that died were the Red Death, the Princess of Whirlpool, Uzumaki Kushina, and the Yellow Flash, the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato."

"**WHA-**" Ino tried to shout before Shikamaru shushed her.

This news was enormous! Naruto? The secret love-child of the Yondaime and a princess of another country? It was like a fairy tale! She then took a closer look at Naruto, inwardly wanting to bash her head into a wall for her stupidity. In Konoha, there were only two families that had blond hair: the said-to-have-died-out Namikaze line and her own family, the Yamanaka. Plus, Naruto shared the Yondaime's hairstyle and eye color!

"W-wait! If that's true, then why do people hate Naruto so much? I think that even though it wouldn't be announced, people would've come to that conclusion earlier, right?"

Shikamaru sighed before looking at Naruto sadly. "His situation is even more complicated than that. He was born during the Incident, which probably contaminated him with the Kyuubi's chakra during childbirth. Combining the fact that they both died the same day he was born, people would've taken him for a cruel reminder of the death of their beloved Yondaime. They wouldn't have taken his similarities as proof, but as spite to them, combining the face of their fallen hero with the whiskers of a fox. They would refuse to even think of the thought, especially after their treatment of him."

"I followed him once, you know. He's truly happy around his adopted 'family', but as soon as they leave, the remainder of the village treats him like trash. From what I've seen, he was probably raised in that lifestyle, and he was even kicked out of the orphanage at the age of 4 from what I've asked. Now, when I remember how he was before the Exam, I realize that he was never truly happy, only smiling in hopes of being accepted."

"Th-that…" Ino stuttered. She couldn't imagine even _living_ that way. She was loved as she was raised, but as she had seen, Naruto had turned out well other than some pranking habits. Heck, if she heard that she was actually somehow related to the Yondaime or some faraway princess, she would've screamed it for the world to know! But Naruto kept it quiet, just because he was probably already satisfied with what meager acceptance he already had.

"That's why I have to watch." Shikamaru concluded. "If not to know whatever abilities Naruto had gained from his parents, but to also know more about Naruto. Before, all I knew about him was his love for pranking, orange, and ramen. And recently, what I have seen is even those obsessions of his are mellowing down."

Ino nodded. "Shikamaru, I swear on my life, I'll never tell anyone about what you said unless they knew already or Naruto gives me permission. Does he know that you know?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "He's incredibly paranoid of it. He fears that if it gets spread, he would lose his 'family' and his current happiness. I couldn't just shock him with this out of nowhere."

They both turned to see what Naruto would reveal to them.

* * *

Naruto swung his **Fading Scars** around before forming a stance, not knowing that most of the audience was watching his every move. He smirked. This was actually the first time he would use this ability in a battle situation.

'**Don't worry about it master,**' Arashi whispered in his mind. '**You are capa****ble of using it now.**'

Forming several clones, he rushed at Kiba, who wasn't even taking him seriously. 'He's making it too easy for me.' In a salvo of strikes and slashes that revealed extreme skill in kenjutsu, Kiba was shocked when Naruto painfully stabbed him with his Keyblade, only for it to go out with him undamaged.

"What was _that_?!" He could only hear Naruto whisper: "**Elucidating Strike**."

* * *

"This is new." Yuugao commented. "When Hayate and I were teaching him, he never did this. Kakashi-senpai, may I ask what did Naruto do?"

He answered, "Naruto told me of a strange incident when he first wielded the **Fading Scars**. After channeling chakra into it and yet not using his sealless jutsus, he managed to get a glimpse of several of Mizuki's memories after he stabbed him in the chest."

Asuma asked, voice sounding a little squeaky. "_What?_"

"Yes, Naruto's **Fading Scars** not only allows him to heal people completely and perfectly, but to also invade a person's memories. From what we tested, the memories can be controlled, and it could only be started by healing a wound, may it be caused by the Keyblade itself or not. The limit would be how serious was the the wound he healed and the amount of chakra he channeled. I then proceeded to teach Naruto some analytic skills on opponent's styles, allowing him-"

"To immediately perceive patterns and strategies of enemies in just a single strike!" Gai cut in. "Not only that, it also gives Naruto immediate abilities in interrogation AND life experience!"

Anko licked her lips. "_Oh, _now that brat looks _so_ delicious! _Kakashi, can I have him?_"

Asuma muttered, "And she asks why she's commonly thought of as a cradle-robber."

"Hey!"

* * *

"What?! That Keyblade of his does that much?!" Ino exclaimed. "Perfect healing AND interrogation?!"

"And that's just one of them." Shikamaru added. "Not to mention the other jutsus of his father, the sealing legacies of his parents, and his above-kage-levels of chakra."

"He would be a monster on the battlefield." The Yamanake whispered. She took a look at Shikamaru. "We're at least telling Chouji about this, right?"

"Yeah, I trust he wouldn't spread it too."

"Tell me what?" Chouji asked, suddenly reappearing behind them. "What?" He asked, seeing his teammates Shika-in-the-path-of-an-arrow (?) expressions.

As they explained the situation, Chouji forgot to remind them that Sakura came along behind him.

* * *

"I guess Kaka-sensei explained it for you already?"

Naruto was effortlessly reading and countering each and every move and attack Kiba was sending towards him, further infuriating Kiba, and causing him to not think straight, making him even more predictable.

"Shut it, Naruto! Even if you manage to get my patterns and habits, all I have to do is break them! **Tsuuga!**"

Akamaru jumped into the air before spinning into a drill aiming for Naruto. When it hit, Kiba cheered.

"Yahoo! Told you Naruto was weak!"

But Naruto disappeared in a burst of smoke before reappearing behind him. "You don't learn, do you?"

Akamaru was down on the ground, concussed due to his impact with a steel drum Naruto unsealed for Kawarimi.

With a wave of his Keyblade, a dozen shadow clones appeared, surrounding Kiba. Each of them started rotating their **Fading Scars** by the handle. Naruto slammed his own into Kiba's gut, sending him upwards, followed by the thirteen Keyblades that were swung towards him.

'Let's do this, Arashi!' Naruto cried in his mind. The spirit nodded, channeling more of his strength.

"**Strike Raid Combo: Blade Twister!**"

Each Keyblade swung around and round, forming a whirlwind of metal, cacophony of silver hitting silver with Kiba in the center. Kiba couldn't prevent himself from yelling as multiple cuts and bruises formed all over his body.

After half a minute of the twister, every shadow clone popped, leaving behind Kiba beaten on the ground. Akamaru walked over to him, licking his wounds.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto by KO!" Hayate announced with an undercurrent of pride.

"Okay then," Naruto muttered, carrying Kiba by the shoulder. "Let me carry you to your seat so I can heal you already…"

* * *

"Damn, that was brutal." Genma commented. "To think that the very same thing that miraculously healed Hayate could deal so much damage!"

"And that was the support one." Raidou shuddered. "I've heard rumors of the other two, and both are terrifying, especially the third."

Kakashi smugly mumbled, "And he had received a new one yesterday, one that could help him perfect his copying of _that_ style."

Yuugao's eyes widened. "_What?_"

* * *

Sasuke kicked to front of his seat, not caring of the pain the action caused to his foot. Those Keyblades of Naruto's… Why were they wasted on someone like the dobe?! He was the Last Uchiha! He should have been the one to receive them, heirloom or not!

Little did he know that four other genin were watching his small tantrum, two of them finally perceiving it for what it really was.

"_Chouji, Naruto is the son of the Yondaime Hokage and the Princess of Whirlpool."_

Sakura didn't mean to overhear it, but she couldn't help herself from forcing in into the conversation after that. After hearing Shikamaru's explanation, she couldn't help but see Naruto in a different light.

An image of power, yet kindness. He was just as understanding as what she imagined the Yondaime would have been.

He was the one who apologized and asked for both of them to be friends, while she was the one who should have done so, especially with the many times she hurt him physically and emotionally.

"_The Yondaime is my hero!"_ Naruto once told her. She didn't know back then, but it was probably Naruto's admission of Namikaze Minato as his father. No wonder he tries so hard at mastering his seals and Keyblades!

And now, looking at her Sasuke-kun, she couldn't help but compare both of them. Not that she'd suddenly start going for Naruto, mind you, but enough to make her reconsider her crush.

Sasuke **used to have **family, and Naruto never did. But unlike Naruto, Sasuke refused to let new people into his heart, blocking them out. He had turned bitter, even though after the Massacre he was beloved by the village, practically worshipped. Naruto on the other hand, was meant to be loved, but by matters concerning his birth out of his control, he was hated by the village his family sacrificed their lives for.

Looking at her crush now, with his jealousy and anger now visible to her previously rose-colored perception of him, she couldn't help but be scared. Both of them had power, but Sasuke wouldn't protect the people around him. Now that she thinks of it, he even said he would do anything for revenge. Would he even kill those around him for power?

Seeing him act like a spoiled child (an admittedly slightly crazy child), was it even worth it to attempt to chase after him anymore? Especially when he wouldn't even give you the time of day?

"Sakura…" Ino started. How long has it been since she managed to look her in the eyes without fury behind them? And then she remembered that it was also Naruto who helped her gain back her best friend, just earlier this morning.

Tears fell out of her eyes. She wasn't sad, no; sad for Naruto maybe, but she knew he would probably say something like the past doesn't matter beyond being something to remember. No, she was crying at her own self-hatred at what she had done to Naruto, and how sorry she was.

"Fourth match, Higurashi Tenten vs Hyuuga Hinata!" Hayate announced. Was the next match starting? Tenten was a weapons mistress, and Hinata was…

Hinata! The only one who had loved Naruto for this long! Naruto merely didn't know.

Naruto may think that he loves Sakura, but she knows he only sees her as a friend in the end. He only wanted companionship after all. But Hinata, he deserves her. Now, it's her mission to ensure they get together.

But then she heard Naruto's voice.

"Go, Hinata!"

She smiled. Perhaps this would be easier than she thought.

* * *

**Fourth Match, Higurashi Tenten vs Hyuuga Hinata!**

Let it be said that Hyuuga Hinata was shy.

After watching her Naruto-kun completely and utterly defeat Kiba, Hinata couldn't help but flush as she imagined scenarios in her mind.

_He would take Hinata from her family and make her happy. And then, somehow, he would convince the Hyuuga Clan to change for the better all for her, and her family would finally be together without pride and a seal creating a schism in between. Her younger sister, father, and cousin would finally accept her for who she was and not as what the clan wanted, then he would-_

She then started tearing up on herself at her selfish thoughts. She didn't deserve him, especially since she would only bring him to the chaos of her Clan.

But still, seeing him defeat Kiba with grace and confidence caused her heart to go a-flutter. Of course, she still felt sad and slightly angry at herself for being happy at the loss of her teammate, but seeing him then go out of his way to heal every wound he made, she couldn't help but smile in the sight of her hero.

If only she was like him.

"Fourth match, Higurashi Tenten vs Hyuuga Hinata!"

Hinata froze. Her enemy would be her cousin's teammate. She was sure she would lose and disappoint those watching her. And if she even won by some miracle, Neji would hate her and she would have to fight her Naruto-kun. Perhaps, it's better for her to simply forfeit. The rest of her team lost already; and she wouldn't last a second match if ever she would win this one.

And then she heard him cheer for her.

"Go, Hinata!"

Just like that, determination flowed through her veins. It didn't matter that maybe she would lose, or maybe Neji would hate her, or maybe she would fight him-

'Wait, he wishes to fight me?' She thought. She turned to look at him, and she didn't need the Byakugan to see that he didn't expect her to lose, nor did he expect her to win, but he expected her to do her best. And if ever she would reach the next match, he wouldn't see her as a loser even if she could barely pull herself in the arena. He would only see her as an equal, and that she tried her best.

And that was enough for her to do so.

* * *

Neji couldn't understand Uzumaki Naruto.

He heard that he was a former dead-last for three years, but what he had seen was different.

Where he went, he went with a purpose, he had the will, and he had the ability.

He could see the hours ingrained in Naruto's kenjutsu stances and the grace in the blond's movements. He had enough time with Tenten to do so. But he could also see the limitless talent Naruto had.

Yet, with all that, why was he a dead-last?

Why would he cheer someone like Hinata on?

Neji now found something that the Byakugan couldn't perceive.

Seeing Hinata slightly shake as she walked towards the arena, Neji could only growl slightly. He, the prodigy of the clan, would have to one day serve someone as weak as her? Then seeing her straighten as more cheers of Naruto rang through the arena, Neji scoffed. Like a leech she was, she was a parasite on other people.

She was the weak parasite that was saved in exchange for his father's life.

The handlebar of his seat snapped in his musing. He didn't notice his hands gripping them very tightly.

He couldn't help feeling some grim satisfaction as Tenten continued to pepper Hinata with multiple kunai and shuriken. After all, it's further proof that Hinata's fate was to be a weakling.

* * *

Hinata could feel the taste of copper in her mouth, but she ignored it to continue her charge at Tenten. She knew enough about the weapon's mistress to know that hiding behind cover wouldn't matter. What she needed was the skill to block her weapons with her bare hands and reflexes, but she lacked that. And so, she simply charged, waiting for a moment to successfully achieve her strategy.

Tenten continued to fire braces of shuriken and kunai, but Hinata danced away from most of them. If it was something she had, it was flexibility. She could twist and turn in midair with such grace that it looked like a dance. But most wasn't enough. Tenten was still making her marks.

"Sorry about this, Hinata-san," Tenten muttered before placing two scrolls on the ground. "**Twin Rising Dragons!**"

Naruto whistled. Tenten's abilities in fuuinjutsu were finally shown. Like she said earlier before the start of the tournament, she emphasized on sealing massive amounts of weaponry on her person, and the two scrolls she took out probably had hundreds.

Naruto had an idea…

Tenten couldn't help but feel pity for Hinata. She wasn't bad really, she was just shy. And she was much nicer than most of the Hyuuga. But a match is a match, so she had to quickly finish this. Her style was simple; throw a lot of weapons, unseal more, and throw again. Her own kenjutsu wasn't good enough for anybody who can enter the second round. She knew just by looking at those who won and those left that nobody would even be surprised even if she didn't use the **Twin Rising Dragons** in this match. So at least she could make a show before her next match.

Seeing Hinata jump out of the smoke, she set on action. She only aimed in the non-vital parts, so she wouldn't kill Hinata. Even Naruto with his miraculous Keyblade wouldn't be able to raise the dead after all…

But suddenly she felt dizzy. Genjutsu? Damn. If only Gai-sensei wasn't so taijutsu oriented.

Her surroundings went in a rainbow of colors. What used to be far away looked very close, albeit warped. Opposite for what she remembered to be close to her. If she didn't memorize the position of each of her weapons, she wouldn't have been able to wield them anymore.

Quickly pulling out a kunai, she stabbed her own leg in a place that wouldn't bother her later. The genjutsu snapped.

But where was Hinata?

She could only freeze in shock when she realize she couldn't move her body anymore. She then heard Hinata from behind her back. How did she do it?

"It was the strings. You probably planned them for weapon reuse, right?"

The strings- She was a Hyuuga! Then…

"I simply channeled my chakra through them to damage your chakra system through your fingers." Hinata continued, surprisingly without a stutter. "I couldn't do it while you were throwing them at me, otherwise you would've cut them. So I first waited for a chance to use genjutsu so you could focus on it and forget about the strings."

She felt several palm strikes hit her limbs. Her body collapsed, unable to support her own weight. It was her own loss.

"Sadly, I also can't fight a second match so, at least… I'll… make.. this a draw." Hinata continued, probably the loss of blood and chakra catching up to her.

Tenten couldn't do anything but black out while Hayate announced a draw.

* * *

Naruto smiled. Hinata really did her best.

He didn't really know much about her before the Exams, but Yuugao-nee explained to him her situation. He couldn't help but tighten his grip on the bars he was leaning on as he remembered how she explained to him that she was mistreated by her own clan. He truly didn't know what was worse: having no family at all or having your family mistreat you? He couldn't help but feel sympathetic on Hinata's case.

He jumped off the ledge to help Hayate-nii carry the two girls to the medic's tent. He couldn't help but feel curious when Hayate grinned in a strangely sly way when he told him to carry Hinata, nor did he understand the strange but determined looks he received from Sakura when he passed by her on the way.

He was really confused that when Hayate-nii announced Ino and Sakura's match, Sakura told him to go to Hinata instead instead of staying to cheer after her. He complied, but not before giving her his well-wishes and a shadow clone so he'll receive it's memories later.

Now time to head to the medic's tent.

* * *

******XX.**

**Fifth Match, Haruno Sakura vs Yamanaka Ino!**

"I see what you did there Sakura." Ino commented, staring at the direction Naruto left with Hinata. "You're trying to set them together, right? Too bad he's so devoted to you." She nodded, taking a look at Naruto's shadow clone.

"He doesn't deserve me." Sakura answered with such self-hate that Ino couldn't help but vehemently announce her disagreement.

"Sakura! The fact that you would even feel that way is proof that you can care for Naruto!" Ino disagreed, whispering so only Sakura would hear. "Don't go on crying over spoilt milk! You can make it up to him later."

"Ino…"

Ino clenched her fists and formed a stance. She spoke. "Let's make a bet then, Sakura."

"If I win, you would attempt to make it up to him. And if I lose, I'll help you with your plans."

"So don't you dare lose if you want to continue brooding like Sasuke-kun does!"

"What are they talking about?" Asuma asked with a sweatdrop.

"I don't know." Kakashi answered. "But I can see a change in Sakura ever since Naruto's match. From what I remember, she was talking about something with Ino back then. And now, you can see in her eyes that she's unsure about something."

"Knowing them, maybe it was another fight over Sasuke again." Kurenai muttered.

"No, that's not it. Far from it. Earlier, I noticed the two of them sending contemplative looks over both Naruto and Sasuke." Kakashi shook his head. "And recently, Sakura had been rather regretful of her past treatment of Naruto."

"Do you think Sakura's moving on from Sasuke to Naruto then?" Asuma asked. He really couldn't understand the fairer side of the species.

"That's not it too. Sakura just sent Naruto earlier with Hinata towards the medic's tent." Yuugao added her two cents. "That's not a girl with a newfound crush would do."

"Do you guys realize that you guys are gossiping in the middle of a match?" Hayate whispered. "It's a good thing I disabled the microphones, or else your conversation would've been broadcasted to the audience!"

"Oops…"

"Ino, I won't lose! Shandaro!" Sakura formed a ram seal. "**Kai!**"

* * *

Hiruzen was carefully watching the match. He truly enjoyed the previous ones, and Naruto's match had his grandson and his friends talking on 'how great their Naruto-niichan was'. He chuckled at the memory. Naruto was truly great with children, if what the report from yesterday's birthday party told him was true.

Anyways, going back to the match, he noticed that the pink-haired teammate of Naruto had movements familiar to one of his students. Taking a short look at the satisfied expression on her silver-haired sensei, he remembered the various reports about the girl in the past as Top Kunoichi. With a startling realization, he recalled: Perfect chakra control and an explosive temper.

And so when Sakura smashed her fist on the ground, forming a small crater, he smiled.

Looks like Konoha will have a second Tsunade.

* * *

"What was that?!" Anko shrieked. In the arena, various craters were being formed by the seemingly harmless pink-haired kunoichi. "Kakashi, what have you been teaching your genin?!"

"Don't look at me." Kakashi raised his hands in a surrendering manner. "It was Naruto's fault. I only helped."

"Naruto again?" Asuma asked. "He's always busy huh?"

"Yep. When I was training them, Naruto contradicted me when I told Sakura that one of her weakness was strength. He then continued to say that Sakura punches really hard, and I, the disbeliever, immediately set upon having Sakura punch a training post."

"At first, it was like I thought. But after Naruto told her to think the post was Tora," The surrounding Jounin sweatdropped. "She shocked me with a punch that knocked the top of the post flying towards me. I think she aimed for that…" Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

"Anyways, I only then realized that Sakura instinctively charges her punches with chakra. And with her perfect chakra control…" Kakashi smiled ferally under his mask. "I may have what may be the next Tsunade."

* * *

Ino was inwardly panicking. She did want to motivate Sakura, but she didn't know she could do this out of nowhere! Gah, Team 7 was really weird! She immediately raised her hand to surrender, lest she would be hit by one of Sakura's strong punches.

'I guess I have to help Sakura get Hinata and Naruto get together then,' Ino thought. 'Too bad.'

"As history foretells, Team 7 would be complicated." Izumo prophesized. "What's up with the number! First the Sandaime's team, then the Sannin, then Jiraiya-sama's team, then Team Minato, and now Kakashi and his bunch of genin!"

"And strangely, it reflects some of the the past teams prominent characteristics. Even now, they act like the Sannin!" Kotetsu added. "Naruto with his strange but powerful attacks, like Jiraiya-sama. Sakura with her strong punches and chakra control, like Tsunade-sama. Heck, Sasuke's as much as a flight risk and power-hungry as Orochimaru!"

"And they also acted like Minato-sama's team." Raidou added his two cents. "Naruto is really similar to that Obito sometimes, Sasuke's just like what Kakashi used to be, and Sakura's a fangirl like Rin did."

"No wonder Kakashi-sempai is really happy yet troubled that he got this team…" Genma finished. "It's probably a daily reminder to him of what-could-have-been of his team, and he's probably scared the same would happen with them."

* * *

**Sixth Match, Hyuuga Neji vs Nara Shikamaru!**

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru yawned. "Do I really have to fight? All I wanted was to just watch the others do their thing…"

A vein popped in Neji's head. Why was he so unlucky to fight such a lazy person?

"Shut it Nara and prepare to fight. But you won't win."

Shikamaru stood, cleaning an ear with a pinky. "Why are you so sure then?"

Neji smirked. "Because I am fated to win."

Shikamaru closed his eyes before opening them with a surprising air of seriousness. "Fate, huh?"

* * *

"Shikamaru's acting strange…" Asuma commented. "Normally, Ino would've had to force him into the match, but a single statement from Neji's already got him motivated. What's up with him?"

Kurenai couldn't answer.

"Shikamaru-kun is overflowing with an unusual amount of youth!" Gai shouted. He then followed with another statement, this time much quieter. "I wonder if he…"

* * *

"I don't know about the Hyuuga, but in the Nara Clan no one believes in fate." Shikamaru started, his lazy drawl gone. "Life isn't something someone above decides for you, but something people make with their decisions."

"What sort of strategist would believe that everything would always go to the plan?"

Neji snarled. "Stop it with you incessant talking, Nara. I won't even need the Byakugan to defeat you."

"Really then?" Shikamaru asked, not knowing that his stare was slowly making Neji uncomfortable. "It'll make things easier for me."

* * *

"Why is he deliberately taunting Neji?" Kurenai asked Asuma.

"I also don't know." He answered. "This is the first time Shikamaru got this serious. I don't know what's going on his head."

"Neji-san, I've heard of you. A genius they say, one with a tragic history. Yet if it was so tragic, why do you flaunt it?"

"Shut it…"

"You would blame fate for every bad thing that happens to you, yet you claim fate favors you over others. Tell me, aren't you just lying to yourself?"

"SHUT IT, NARA!"

Neji rushed towards Shikamaru, who threw several braces of shuriken towards him. He dodged, aiming to quickly silence the annoying bastard of a Nara. He smirked in satisfaction when Shikamaru screamed after being hit with several Jyuuken strikes.

"Don't speak of what you don't understand. You can't-" He then realized that he couldn't move. He spoke through his clenched teeth. "How did you catch me? I didn't see you make any seals."

"**Kage Mane no Jutsu**, complete. I told you it would make it easier for me. I made the seals while we were talking, I just delayed the combination substitution and genjutsu until after I threw my shuriken. What you hit was just a log." And with that, the 'Shikamaru' Neji hit popped in a burst of smoke, revealing that the real Shikamaru was behind him.

Neji grit his teeth after realizing that Shikamaru was right. "What are you going to do now? I won't admit defeat."

Shikamaru yawned. "I can simply throw a kunai at your spine if you want. I can also simply lean back unto the ground. You would stab yourself with the dozens of shuriken I threw earlier. Accept it, Neji. You lost because you underestimated me."

Since Neji refused to admit defeat, Hayate was then soon forced to end the match at Shikamaru's favor, who simply picked up his shuriken before walking back to the seats.

* * *

"Whoa, Shikamaru's cool!" Kiba shouted, already fully recovered from his earlier beatdown. Noticing the strange expression on Lee and Hinata's (she just arrived after a blushing Naruto carried her while she was healed but unconscious.) faces, he asked, "What?"

"I never defeated Neji but," Lee started with the slightest accompaniment of frustration, "Shikamaru-kun did it without any problems and without a single scratch."

Kiba turned to look at Shikamaru. He realized the immense meanings of this victory.

Naruto spoke, "Shikamaru is a scary guy. Kiba, you remember our past matches at Shougi against him?"

Kiba nodded. Naruto continued, "Shougi is a strategy game, and is also used to measure one's intelligence."

Naruto turned to look at Asuma who was having a discussion with Gai. "When I was being taught tactics by Nii-san, he explained to me about it. Remembering my past matches against Shika, I asked Asuma-sensei if he tested Shikamaru's IQ."

"He said he did do so because he also noticed it, and he was nevertheless shocked at the results."

"What was the results?" Kiba asked with Lee also turning in the conversation.

"If a normal genius would receive 150, Shikamaru is a super-genius of over 200!"

"**WHAT?!**"

'Shikamaru-san sounded so angry at Neji's words about fate.' Hinata thought. Being a silent type herself, she understood that Shikamaru's seriousness was caused by anger. 'I wonder why…'

* * *

"Shikaku-sama's son is so like him." Kurenai commented. "He sounded like how Shikaku-sama would berate those jounin over their inflated egos."

"But normally Shikamaru doesn't act like this." Asuma added. "Normally, he would let the behavioral problems of other people resolve themselves instead of adding his own personal effort. He's done that enough with Ino and Kiba after all."

"Did Shikamaru have negative reactions over fate in the past?" Kakashi asked. "He only became serious after Neji told him his fate speech."

"No, not that I could remember," The smoker answered. "Though, yesterday I spotted him in the library having this strangely melancholical expression."

"Hmmm…." Kakashi turned to see Shikamaru send Naruto a short gaze before nodding at Ino and Chouji. Sakura, who also caught it, did the same. 'Perhaps…'

"I have to teach Neji a lesson about underestimating his enemies later." Gai said in a manner that lacked its usual dose of exuberance. "Asuma-san, we have a lot to expect from Shikamaru-kun."

There was a general sound of agreement from the Jounin-senseis.

"We have an announcement to make!" Hayate started, nodding at the judge's table. "Since there was an odd number of contestants left, we are letting one having a bye. Please come down the stage and pick a ballot from this box."

Sasuke, Lee, Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru all walked down to Hayate to pick up a ballot.

"Who has the red ballot?"

"It's Lee, Hayate-nii!" Naruto answered for Lee, just so he wouldn't have his eardrums burst.

"Okay then. This would be the matches!"

**First Match: Uchiha Sasuke vs Uzumaki Naruto.**

**Second Match: Haruno Sakura vs Nara Shikamaru.**

**Last Match: Free-4-All!**

Naruto grinned while Sakura cringed. Looks like he would get his match against Sasuke after all…

* * *

**AN: Yep, it's a NaruHina pairing! Sorry for those who probably wanted something else; it may be cliché, but I can't help but cheer for the two of them.**

**Too bad I failed in unveiling Naruto's new Keyblade this chapter.**

**To those who noticed a sudden change in writing style in the middle of the chapter, the reason is when I wrote this, I started half asleep. I don't have an editor, so this is a raw chapter. I'll probably change it sometime in the future.**

**Next chapter would probably be omakes. It would reveal the various conversations that were not shown in this chapter. Like: What was everything that happened in the Medic's Tent? Konohamaru Trio's reactions to the matches? Some other perspectives other than the judges and the genin?**

**This chapter was too serious for my tastes, so expect lots of humor for the next one!**

***chibi Shikamaru appears!***

**"What a drag..."**

***Forms a rat seal and draws title with his shadow.***

**"Omake: Shikamaru Report #1"**

Shikamaru was leaning on a tree branch, observing his subject, Uzumaki Naruto. The blond was fighting against one of his clones in a Shougi match. He yawned.

The thing is, the clone was acting very differently from the original. It was more sarcastic, more wily, and more important in Shikamaru's opinion, much better at Shougi than Naruto.

It was strange. The **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** was supposed to create fragile complete copies of the original, not independent higher thinking duplicates!

The clone chuckled, waving his pointer finger like a metronome. "Master, that sort of tactic won't defeat me."

It then took one piece and placed it somewhere in the board. Naruto grabbed at his hair, frustrated.

"Check."

Naruto pouted. "Mou, Arashi, stop beating me every time!"

That was also something that ringed in Shikamaru's mind. Naruto called his clone 'Arashi', as if somebody different from himself.

He knew Naruto meant as 'maelstrom', and Arashi was 'storm'. Was it Multiple Personality Disorder?

If then, it would mean that Naruto was either slightly crazy or secretly somebody very smart.

And for the life of him, Shikamaru couldn't conclude which was it.

"One more time, Arashi!"

Arashi only gave Naruto a mysterious smile. "Okay then, master."

Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched. The clone was the complete opposite of Naruto! He was more like some sort of an attendant to a prince!

And so, Shikamaru continued to watch even when it became dark. Naruto slowly got better, but Arashi was still trouncing the original easily. Naruto persevered, but after the 30th loss, he finally gave up, standing up to start cooking.

Shikamaru stood up to leave, but he was stopped by Arashi who body-flickered behind the Nara. The clone once more gave that frustratingly cryptic smile that was weird on Naruto's face.

"Oh, are you leaving, Shikamaru-san?"

Shikamaru groaned. "You're one the hell of a cryptic guy, you know? Since when did you notice?"

Arashi only leaned on another tree. "Ever since I was summoned."

The Nara sat back down. "I could ask who the hell or what are you, but I'll rather do something else."

The clone raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

Shikamaru smiled. He took out his private chessboard. "Want a game of Shougi?"

Arashi chuckled. "Okay then. Only a single game."

And when the Nara scion arrived the next day in his home, even if he had no sleep and his mother was tearing him one, he retained a happy smile that creeped out everyone who saw him until the day after.

**Anyways, leave your reviews and…. Tah-tah!**


	7. Tournament Omake

**AN:** **I'm back!**

**GAH! The pain of having no laptop nor computer of your own… Truly a painful experience for a writer and his muse. In my attempt to write this chapter, I was hindered by an impromptu time away from home and the untimely confiscation of my mother of the laptop I usually use.**

**To those who expecting me to follow through my previous statement, my apologies.**

**Alas! If only more reviews and PMs were given… Then at least I could convince my parents this can be considered "productive". Heck- if I wanted productive, then why would I write fanfiction instead of actual stories to sell?**

**To those who were annoyed by the previous rant, please do not mind it. To those who feel the same, please give me some recommendations so at least I can plan ahead at the moments I'm unable to type.**

**This chapter is dedicated to BCFireShadow! Anybody interested in reading good fics will enjoy his To Change The Future!**

**Thank you!**

**Edit: Similar to previous chapter. Only minor edits and added an omake.**

**Disclaimer: I never said I owned Naruto or Kingdom Hearts. I never really followed both of them to the latest chapters/games. For Naruto, it was getting a little boring. For KH? I never really had the consoles to play them…**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Tournament Omakes**

**XVIII. (Omake Version)**

"I'm so excited for the matches! Nii-chan will totally beat them all!"

"Is that right, Konohamaru-kun? How cool is your Nii-chan?"

"Well~ I can't really tell you unless he shows it already… And by then, explaining it will be just troublesome…"

Hiruzen sweatdropped. When did his grandson turn into a Nara? Wasn't he supposed to be a wild-by-childhood, wisened-by-age Sarutobi?

"Eehhhh! Why?"

"Kakashi-nii –that's one of Naruto-niichan's nii-chans by the way, and by extension mine- told me to keep what I see during their practice sessions quiet." His grandson Konohamaru answered to his only female friend, Moegi, "He explained that information is a tool for many ninja."

Truer words have never been said, Hiruzen thought.

"Then, Konohamaru-kun, let's go buy some food from the stands around here." Muttered Konohamaru's other friend, Udon. "Let's buy some yakisoba or roasted squid while we wait for the matches to start…"

Konohamaru's stomach then growled before the boy rubbed the back of his head –a habit he copied from Naruto, Hiruzen wondered- finishing with a sheepish look at his grandfather.

"Jiji, can I have some pocket money?"

At the no-no look of the old man, the boy pouted before breaking into a foxy grin that reminded Hiruzen too much of a certain blonde genin. Sharing a look with his two friends, they simultaneously nodded before using the most destructive application of the **Puppy Eyes no Jutsu**.

At the sight of three pairs of sparkling, widening, and watering eyes of three children, Hiruzen's resolve broke into dust before the old Hokage took out his purse and gave the three their money.

'Truly a fearsome technique.' Hiruzen inwardly wept to himself, anime-tears style, 'If only I could classify it as kinjutsu just like that accursed **Oiroke no Jutsu**… But the wielders don't even allow me to write it down before breaking my will…'

Beside the humorously crying old man was one of Konoha's most trusted ANBU, Tenzo. He shook his head before forming a sad smile underneath his Cat mask. His childhood wasn't easy to say the least, but that didn't mean he envied the children. He was truly happy that even in a Village with dark secrets kids can have fun.

It was that twisted ROOT of Danzo that was the true darkness. His job was to ensure that no more sacrifices would be made for the old warhawk's whims.

* * *

**First Match, Aburame Shino vs Uchiha Sasuke**

"Give up, Shino. You may be strong, but you won't win."

Grudgingly, Aburame Shibi, the father of one of the contestants, agreed. This match was truly unfair for his son. He took a look at the judges' table before turning away at slight disgust.

Probably an act of favouritism on the Uchiha's part.

"That boy is truly a time-bomb waiting to blow." Commented a woman's voice to his side. Not that the voice was unfamiliar to him –why? One would remember a teammate that previously irritated you to almost murder before gaining your respect after all.

The woman, with red face-paint, was the mother of one of his son's teammates, the extremely overbearing Inuzuka Tsume. She had by her side her partner, Kuromaru, one of her clan's esteemed nin-dogs. Their partnership was similar to his own, only that his was a hive-minded group of Kikaichuu.

Seeing his son's various bug techniques being burnt to crisp, she winced slightly. "Damn, that's not something Shino would like. We of the Inuzuka hate it when our companions are harmed." She frowned at Shino's use of the Bug Bunshin. "I can't imagine how painful it is for you for your partners to die by the dozens…"

"It is something we have to get used over time." He affirmed. "Shino is one of our most talented members, but that only increases the mental pain of those events, seeing that the stronger the Aburame, the greater the mental bond they have with their hive."

He internally agreed with his son's decision to forfeit. There was no reason to risk severe damage to one's hives for just some silly tournament. He then decided on giving Shino some honeyed toast later, seeing that the boy and his bugs loved them. When Tsume broke into one of her wolf grins, he sent a questioning look.

"It's just something my stupid son has said." She answered with a smile. "He came to the same conclusion."

Truly something to marvel at, Shibi thought. Usually it would take longer for Inuzukas to understand the plight of his clan members. For Tsume it was only after he broke down when half of his hive died instantaneously to save Kuromaru's life did she realize. It may seem small, but it was almost a rite by now between new genin teams with both Inuzuka and Aburame.

At the beginning, the common energetic personality of the Inuzuka would conflict with the silent and logical composure of the Aburame. The Inuzuka would slightly envy the fact that if the Aburame's insects were replaceable while on the other hand the Aburame would find the Inuzuka's under-appreciation of their nin-dogs' hardiness very frustrating. Only when they realize that they both suffer the same pain, only the different sides of a coin, would their teamwork grow leaps and bounds.

Shino realized it by last week. And now Kiba also did.

He took another look at the judges' table. Seeing Kurenai's smile, he then understood the actual aim of the match.

"She planned it." He muttered with a small smile. When Tsume turned to him in confusion, he explained. "I thought at the beginning this was an example of favouritism by the judges. But now I realize Yuuhi Kurenai's aim."

"She planned on Shino losing a good part of his hive, allowing him to get used at the loss before entering any dangerous missions. Same goes for Kiba, as the experience also served to teach him our perspective. I should've remembered earlier that Shino asked Kurenai for help at Kiba's lack of understanding."

Tsume gave a small chuckle. "Not to mention it was also a great bonding experience between Kiba and Akamaru…"

* * *

**Second Match, Rock Lee vs Akimichi Chouji!**

After Chouji cartwheeled into the arena, Inoichi, one of the most feared men in Konoha, broke into chuckles. The retired interrogator smiled at the antics of his teammate's son. When the pineapple-haired man beside him sent him an exasperated look, it broke into a all-out grin.

"Chouza, your son is just like you. To think, entering a competition just for an all-you-can-eat offer of Yakiniku!"

Akimichi Chouza, like the kind man he always was, only took it as a compliment. "Thanks! We of the Akimichi are proud of our eating habits!"

Shikaku's closed eyes ('when did they close?' was the eternally unanswered question in Inoichi's mind) cracked open before the man settled into his 'thinking pose'. It was a habit that Inoichi wanted him to break -after all, if your enemies are forewarned of plan-making before it starts, it'll be a mess- but since no enemy that faced their team survived or escaped to tell the tale he pushed the appointment at the back of his mind (well, literally).

"Well, Chouza, too bad your son won't win."

The big-boned man nodded. "It's just like another match of mine against Gai all over again. Us, the Akimichi, are weak against agility and power types, especially the Strong Fist."

Seeing Chouji fly into a wall, Inoichi asked, "Why did you guys have a match anyway? Wouldn't the apparent chances usually have stopped you before fighting?"

Chouza only gave an embarrassed look before turning to Shikaku for support. The lazy man sighed before explaining for his friend. "It was a competition for something else before it became a spar. Both he and Gai joined an eating competition, but when Gai claimed to be better than him, he broke into one of his rages."

"HE TOLD ME THAT MY BULK WOULD MAKE IT HARDER FOR ME TO EAT!"

Inoichi, who already guessed Chouza's reaction, had his fingers in his ears. Chouza used to always go into one of his rages when the subject of his weight or body shape was mentioned before he mellowed a bit more. Now, he would only have one of his relapses when former cases were mentioned…

When he finally managed to calm down the _slightly_ angered man, the match was already over. Seeing a spiky blonde raise his hand, Inoichi felt a slight pang of remorse.

"The boy already knows of his heritage."

Turning at the man that always seemed to know what he was thinking, he relaxed a bit.

"When can we then arrange a formal meeting with him? We're too busy to meet him _by accident_, so when can we finally meet Minato's son?"

Chouza gave a sad shake of his head. "We can't arrange any sort of formal meeting. The council is still strongly observing him. And we can't just tell our children to invite him without giving them a reason they'll accept."

"Don't worry." Shikaku muttered before looking at the aforementioned new Ino-Shika-Chou. "If my thoughts were right, they'll do it for us."

"If you say so, Shikaku."

* * *

Chouji was having one of those dreams. Giant pieces of meat, cooking upon a grill beside a huge slab of sizzling steak upon a heating black rock. The smell of cooking meat upon his nostrils. He took tentative steps before running towards his food.

100 meters. 50 meters. 25 meters.

He was close. He would taste the everlasting meat!

But before he touched a single fiber of muscle, he was pulled from behind by a streak of green. And in a flash, transparent walls were erected before separating him from his taste of heaven.

No! He has to taste it first! NO!

"NO!" And with that he sat up in an instant. Painfully.

"Ow!" He looked around for painful cause of his new headache before realizing that someone was laughing aloud. Rubbing his sore head, he stood up only to see Uzumaki Naruto rolling on the floor, the source of the laughter.

"S-sorry about t-that Ch-chouji! It's just that your awakening was just too funny!"

Chouji was slightly tempted give Naruto a headache of his own before realizing that other than his now-sore head, his previous scrapes and wounds were gone. Remembering Naruto's Keyblade, he realized that he probably hit himself in the head with it after Naruto used one of his healing jutsus. Imagining the scene, he couldn't help but smile himself.

"Naruto, who has the next match?"

Naruto calmed down before taking Chouji's hand, pulling himself up. "Boss and Kiba."

"Boss?" Chouji asked. Nobody had that much respect of **the** Naruto, right?

"Ah, I remember you don't know it yet. I'm not the real Naruto. I'm a clone."

Remembering the solid hand he pulled earlier, Chouji couldn't help but ask, "Weren't you supposed to be unable to use clones? And when were clones able to use jutsus and have solid forms?"

Naruto-clone grinned. "Well, I'm a different sort of clone, you see. I'm a Shadow Clone, capable of doing probably anything the original can do, well other than mold chakra or resist damage."

Chouji couldn't help but be shocked at the clone's words. Such a clone was something powerful! "But how did you do it?"

Naruto-clone rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, it appears that I have lots of Chakra. Loads of it. And since truthfully my Chakra control sucked, I had to use something more… intensive. Apparently only I could spam this technique because of the amount of chakra I have." He looked at Chouji in the eye before giving a warning. "Sandaime-jiji told me that if any of you guys from our batch tried it, they'll die of Chakra exhaustion."

Chouji raised his hands in surrender. "Don't worry. I already have enough chakra-intensive techniques in my arsenal."

"Well, that's good then. You ready to go?"

As Chouji prepared to leave and nod his head, he then finally took a more detailed look at Naruto.

Surprisingly, Naruto seemed to have grown more muscle, but his form was lithe and limber unlike his own. He also grew an inch and a half within the two months after the Genin Exams. He was still wearing his clothes from the Graduation, but his hair was longer, forming bangs that partially covered Naruto's eyes. It was a look that sparked some recognition in Chouji, a thought of 'I saw it somewhere else…' but he didn't follow through.

It wasn't like Naruto was related to that person, right?

* * *

**XIX. (Omake Version)**

**Third Match, Inuzuka Kiba vs Uzumaki Naruto!**

"Kiba's doomed." Tsume commented. She winced after hearing Kiba patronize Naruto.

"It seems to be the pattern of Team 8." Shibi added his two cents. "How are you sure?"

Tsume gave him a look before explaining in exasperation at his honest to goodness confusion. Normally, she was the one who was less informed. Though this one's a special case.

"His Team Captain is Hatake Kakashi. (**AN: Looks like an FOB song title.**) Would you really think we don't have a good enough relationship at the last holder of the Dog Summoning Scroll?"

"I stand informed."

Tsume sighed. When it came to Shino, Shibi was a lot more talkative. If only…

"We know enough from him about Naruto's growth. And if Kakashi is telling the truth, he won't stand a chance."

She turned to Kurenai, trying to see if she also planned for Kiba's loss. Her enhanced sense of hearing picked up an affirmative.

"What was it?" Shibi asked after Tsume sighed again.

"Looks like Kurenai planned it to be so. If Shino's defeat was for teamwork and experience, then Kiba's would be-"

"The deflation of an Inuzuka's ego." Shibi finished with a slightly smug undertone. So what if he liked seeing proud Inuzukas taken down a few pegs? It only helped them after all…

* * *

"Strange… Shikamaru's strangely attentive." Inoichi muttered. After what Shikaku told him earlier, he started observing his daughter and bestfriend's son. He was surprised that when the name Uzumaki Naruto was announced, Shikamaru immediately sat up before walking towards the rails of the stands to get a better view.

He could then see Shikamaru and Ino talking about something. What about, he didn't know.

"Of course. Ever since he discovered by himself Naruto's history yesterday…"

Inoichi's head turned so fast he almost got whiplash. "WHAT?!"

"Shush. You sound like your daughter." Shikaku scolded. Inoichi turned and blushed when he saw Shikamaru placing his hand on Ino's mouth to silence her. Oh, why is he touching his baby girl…

"Don't get mad just yet at Shikamaru, for that and his unearthing." Shikaku drawled. "It was something I fully expected ever since Naruto found out about his own heritage."

Inoichi sighed. "You guessed that Shikamaru would still find out even if Naruto attempted to hide it, huh? So, what exactly did he conclude?"

"It was his Namikaze and Uzumaki heritage." At Inoichi's shocked look, he shrugged. "It's quite obvious if you know where to look. He still doesn't know about his status as Jinchuuriki, but he's aware of the connection between Naruto's whiskers and the Kyuubi chakra."

"So then he connected the callous behavior of the villagers and some of Naruto's fox features?" Inoichi asked. At Shikaku's nod, he frowned. "Damn. He'll probably find that out sooner or later too."

Chouza added his two cents. "So by what you meant earlier, since they (because Shikamaru would tell his team) would invite Naruto themselves to our clans because they finally understand Naruto?"

Shikaku nodded again.

"We probably let them ask at their own pace. It's best for Naruto to form bonds that weren't mechanized by the older members of the Shinobi world."

* * *

Konohamaru and his gang watched with wide eyes as their Nii-chan dodged and countered evey single attack Kiba attempted.

"GO! NII-CHAN!"

Hiruzen shook his head. Why did his teammates decree him as the babysitter of their grandchildren?

He took an analytic gaze at Naruto and his match.

The problem with the Fading Scars was the mental trauma one may incur in the middle of extraction. Even Inoichi, a man trained to endure such mental damages, cowered after years and years of entering the minds of his enemies. Truly, if one could completely separate one's emotions during work, there would be no problems, but Naruto was only a child.

It would be unhealthy for him to do so just yet.

As he listened to Kakashi's explanation, he realized that Kakashi also wanted to hide this weakness. But he himself gave Naruto a stopgap solution: If Naruto chose the memories he saw, then the more traumatizing ones can be evaded. Not a perfect solution; after all, Naruto wouldn't know which memory would induce trauma.

"Hokage-sama." Called a voice from his side.

He turned to see Ebisu. The man was truly regretful of the whole charade since two months ago, and both Naruto and Konohamaru forgave him. Now, after Konohamaru had his training, he would allow the two and their new friends to sometimes play. He would also assist in redirecting the cruel gazes of the villagers against Naruto.

"Ever since that day, I had a new appreciation for Naruto-san." Ebisu continued. "Even if it lost me my rank, he helped me gain the respect of Konohamaru."

It would also seem that Ebisu finally saw his grandson as he really was.

"How can a boy with a cruel past live so kindly towards his enemies, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen chuckled, confusing his subject. "That's the problem, Ebisu. You saw those who hurt Naruto as his enemies. Truly, Naruto can be outright vengeful against his enemies, as you can see in the case of Mizuki, but he matured to see those who hurt him were just in pain themselves."

He turned to Naruto's match again. "He forgave them long ago. If there's one being Naruto would blame, it would be the Kyuubi."

* * *

"Damn, what was Kakashi thinking! Giving Naruto permission to enter the minds of other people…" Inoichi ranted.

Chouza turned to him, confused. "Weren't you doing the same to our enemies in the last war?" Shikaku shot him a look.

Inoichi steely glared at him. "That's the problem!"

He then started pacing around, biting his nails. "The experience of seeing the memories of others can be cruel. In this world, it is more common for those outside the village to have some sort of traumatic past. Konoha has it's own dark secrets, but at least the children en masse weren't exposed to them!"

"And from what I saw in Naruto-kun's psychology reports, he's deeply emphatic with everyone. Seeing the horrors this world has would forever scar him!"

Shikaku cut in. "And that's the trade-off."

Inoichi turned to him. "What?"

Shikaku sighed. "You think that there would be no exchange for his Keyblade's abilities? Remember the name: **Fading Scars**. It's entirely a support weapon, meant to help one's teammates physically and mentally. Only when Kakashi directed Naruto to use it offensively did it become a possible liability. But your forgetting something from Naruto's report, right?"

Inoichi sat down again. "He has an unbending will to help everyone and not let the world break him down."

"There. Now was Kakashi not thinking when he taught Naruto that?"

Inoichi placed his face in his hands. "But I don't want Minato's son to witness what I did…"

Shikaku sighed again. This was one of Inoichi's problems. When someone would mention the concept of his interrogation in the past, he would suffer a relapse of his breakdown during the war. Not to mention the fact that Naruto was the son of one of their friends; truly, he didn't want anybody to suffer like he did.

* * *

A loud cacophony rang through the air. A twister of silver spinning, started by a group of blonde boys and with a certain Inuzuka in the center.

Three brats screaming for the blonde's name, and the rest of the audience in silent awe.

But a certain mother was bashing her head into a wall.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

"Tsume, stop hitting yourself."

"I won't." She muttered, her face very much red. "My clan's reputation is shot. At least **your** son managed to fight back. But noooo, my own pup would lose completely."

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Shibi chuckled before Tsume gave him a glare. He really liked it when Inuzukas' egos were taken down.

Thud. Thud. Silence. Shibi turned to see Tsume with her face planted in the wall before she started laughing evilly.

"Kibaaaaa… You'll soon wish that Naruto didn't heal you… When I get my hands on you, we have training from hell to commence."

Shibi smiled before it broke into a frown. "No need to do that. It would be highly likely they'll get their own training from Gai."

She shivered. She could remember ocean waves and sunsets appearing out of nowhere, unbreakable illusions that would break any unfortunate observer's mind.

"True. But I'll still do it." She muttered with an evil smile that caused those around her to take a few steps back. "I've heard Hana needed some target practice for her dogs…"

Shibi sweatdropped. He would need to train his son too. This tournament basically revealed their entire abilities. He would need to have Shino develop more skills if they would enter the upcoming Chuunin Exams.

* * *

**Fourth Match, Higurashi Tenten vs Hyuuga Hinata!**

Hyuuga Hiashi calmly observed three people using his Byakugan. Uzumaki Naruto, a past dead-last who recently improved in all areas. Hyuuga Neji, his nephew. His daughter, Hinata.

He regretted his past actions after seeing Hinata struggle to walk confidently to the match. He felt thankful for Naruto's support for his conflicted daughter. He then felt guilt when Neji broke his seat in anger.

How many times had he done something wrong?

"Tch. Nee-san is really weak, having to need the support of a dead-last."'

He inwardly frowned. Hanabi didn't have any sort of respect for Naruto and Hinata, satisfied in merely seeing what those around her told her to see. She would respect Neji, claiming that she would like him more of a brother than Hinata, but then she would belittle Hinata whenever they spar.

He wasn't blind; he could see Hinata was holding herself back. But even though he wanted to help her gain confidence, her personality made her a bad option in the sights of the elders. He could do nothing but do their whims and hurt his daughter even if he never wanted to.

If Hinata would show her skills today, then he would finally be allowed to give her the respect and care he wanted to give.

'Please Hinata…'

* * *

Higurashi Tetsuno grinned. His daughter was the best sort of advertisement everywhere.

The various shinobi in the audience were asking each other where she got them and how good the quality of her weapons was. And with the way she threw them in the dozens, either making their mark or harmlessly going somewhere that wouldn't harm the audience, she won more popularity for his shop than all of his advertisement for his previous year combined.

When he saw him take her scrolls out, he smiled. He placed a little surprise there behind Tenten's back…

"**Twin Rising Dragons!**"

Unknown to her, the reason why the audience were looking up wasn't her, but the huge advertising balloon that suddenly appeared behind her back.

"_Please buy your weapons in the __**Higurashi Weapons Shop**__! We guarantee to give you the best!_"

Yes!

The crowd then stared in awe as she started throwing more and more weapons. They probably finally realized that his daughter carried enough weapons to supply a small private army. If only he was allowed to let her use his exploding tags and flashbombs…

He sighed. Well, there was still the Chuunin Exams, right?

* * *

Seeing Hinata manage to somehow draw with a genin one year more experienced than her, Hiashi inwardly smiled. That was probably enough proof. Though, he was slightly shocked of his nephew's teammate. To think that she would have that much weapons…

He used his Byakugan to find the girl's father, the main supplier of Konoha's weaponry, Higurashi Tetsuno. He heard that the man was uncanny, and he suspected that the earlier advertisement wasn't part of the girl's attack.

He could respect the man's ingenuity to gain more business.

"Nee-san failed to even win a match! Truly, she is unsuitable to be the heiress."

He sent a cool glare at his youngest daughter, who then flinched. He could use this to finally tame his little firecracker.

"Are you blind, Hyuuga Hanabi? Because if you can see, then you would've realized two things. First, your 'weak' sister managed to defeat a kunoichi that was a year more experienced than her, complete with dozens of weapons to match. If you were the one who was in the match, you would lose in ten seconds."

Hanabi looked rebellious. Her pride was probably damaged.

"And second, anyone can see that your sister performed better in this match than in any of the spars between you two. I would then question whether she was holding back. And if she was, then wouldn't your training be faulty as well?"

She froze.

"I would then have to give you someone else as a sparring partner if Hinata wouldn't fight you seriously. Starting now, your sparring partner would be Hyuuga Ko while I would personally train your sister."

She then looked mutinous before cowering under his glare. "Would you agree to those conditions?"

"Yes," She answered through her teeth. "Father."

* * *

Tenten felt warm, with white light covering her entire body and lifting every bit of paralysis and exhaustion of her body before waking her up from unconsciousness. When she opened her eyes, she came face to face with the object that had been in her mind for hours.

"The Keyblade!" "Gah!" The holder of the weapon of her thoughts fell back in surprise.

"Why do they always have to wake up that way…?"

"Huh, Naruto? Am I in the Medic's Tent?" Tenten asked. All she could remember was being knocked out.

"Yep, you are." Naruto answered. "Are you fully healed?"

"Don't worry about me. But wait, let me see the Keyblade again!"

Naruto sighed. He guessed this would happen. "Okay, but I can't give it to you."

Placing the **Fading Scars** in Tenten's hands without letting go, she immediately gripped at it, surprising Naruto.

"I can't see anythi-" Suddenly there was an unlocking sound, and a pull from nowhere. Tenten and Naruto shouted in surprise before opening their eyes.

Everything around them was different. Gone was the unused medical tools and materials, and there was now a hill with a bloody-red sky.

They were surrounded with dozens of weapons, stabbed in the ground, and at the top of the hill was a white-haired tanned man. The man turned to look at them before smiling.

"Welcome to my Unlimited Blade Works."

The next moment, they were back at the tent.

"What was that?!" Tenten shouted. Naruto, who was just recovering from shock, snapped out of it and put his hands to his ears.

Tenten noticed the action. "Sorry." When did she become such a Lee?

"Don't worry about it…" Naruto replied, recovering. "Even I don't know that. The Keyblade is still a huge mystery to me."

"You don't know much about it?" Tenten asked. Naruto answered, "It didn't come with a manual or something. Everything's pretty much trial and error. And instincts."

"Well, what do those instincts of yours say?" Tenten continued. If even the sole user didn't fully understand it, then what would be the entire capabilities of the Keyblade?

"Well, there was that unlocking sound…" Naruto thought out loud. He turned to Tenten. "If you suddenly develop some sort of skill or ability or even have any more of those visions, Tenten, tell me."

Tenten nodded. It was best if the Naruto found out what exactly happened.

Satisfied with her response, Naruto stood up again. "Now, Hinata's turn."

"How did it feel that your girlfriend tied against me?" Tenten teased. Naruto sputtered before turning back at her. "Girlfriend?! We're not even that close!" He muttered this under his breath. "No girl would like me that way for no reason…"

Tenten was shocked. She honestly thought they had some sort of relationship, especially with the obvious crush of Hinata on him and his unceasing cheers for her earlier.

"Really?! You don't see her very obvious crush on you?!"

"What! Hinata has a crush on me?!"

Tenten smirked. It would seem that Naruto was such a thickheaded person.

"Wasn't it easy to see? You know, blushing, stuttering, and fainting in your presence? She has it hard for you, you know."

Naruto looked flabbergasted. Tenten continued to smirk.

"Wake her up then. If she faints when she wakes up, then it's proof that she has a crush on you."

Still in some sort of a trance, Naruto proceeded to heal Hinata. Muttering, "**Cura.**", in a flash of green light, Hinata started to stir before waking up. Like what Tenten said, the moment her eyes laid upon Naruto, her face went into one very interesting shade of red before she fainted.

"See?" Tenten asked. Naruto was still in shock.

Tenten chuckled. "If you want to, wait for her to confess to you herself. Then decide what you want to do."

Naruto snapped out of it before smiling sadly. "No, I'll face her myself."

"What would you do then?"

"She doesn't know me entirely just yet." Naruto answered. "If she has a crush on me without me being a good friend on her, then how can she entirely understand me?"

Cruel but wise words, Tenten thought. All Hinata wanted was to be more than a friend, but Naruto wouldn't let her.

"Hoh, why then young one?" Tenten asked curiously with the slightest bit of sarcasm.

"I've learned from my stupid crush on Sakura that I didn't know everything about her. When we finally became friends, my crush started fading away. If Hinata would still like me after becoming friends with me, and if I then started liking her back, then that'll be when I'll be making my decision."

"You're quite the romantic, Naruto." Tenten teased. Naruto blushed a bit before carrying Hinata bridal-style, much to the smirk of Tenten.

"Let's go back, then."

* * *

**XX. (Omake Version)**

**Fifth Match, Haruno Sakura vs Yamanaka Ino!**

"I worry about the mental state of Haruno Sakura…" Inoichi commented. "From what I've seen, she also found out about Naruto. I wonder what she's thinking."

"Troublesome…" Answered Shikaku. "If I'm reading it correctly, she's probably feeling guilty about her mistreatment of Naruto. I've heard he used to have quite the crush."

"Used to?" Chouza questioned. "Then he started hating her?"

"No, far from it." Said Shikaku, looking up at the sky. "He ended up apologizing to her about the crush before asking if they could at least be friends."

"Where did you hear it from?"

"From Kakashi himself. The man was rather proud of how Naruto handled Sakura."

Inoichi snickered. "Perhaps you should ask lessons on how to handle Yoshino-san."

"Troublesome."

* * *

**Crash!**

"Whoa! Nee-san is so cool!" Shouted Konohamaru, much to the confusion of his friends. "Ah, you don't know her? Naruto-niichan once invited her to play with us. At the beginning, she was hesitant, but Nii-chan managed to convince her."

Moegi had stars in her eyes. "Coool~ She's like Tsunade-sama!"

Udon nodded. "She's so powerful." He shuddered. "I don't want to get at her bad side."

**CRACK!**

"But Nii-chan is still better than her! You know, he can summ-" Konohamaru attempted to say before Ebisu signaled him to keep quiet.

"I'm sorry about this, Konohamaru-kun," Konohamaru smiled, "but you can't just blurt out Naruto-san's secrets, you know?"

Konohamaru pouted a bit until Ebisu comforted him. "Don't worry. Naruto-san still has a few chances to show his true strength."

* * *

"Ino…" Said Inoichi worriedly. "I hope she doesn't get hit. Those punches look extremely painful."

"It's kinda funny how similar Naruto and Sakura's relationship to Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama's." Chouza commented. "And now, Sakura is showing the same sort of abilities as her."

"Konoha would get another troublesome woman…" Shikaku muttered to himself with the smallest amount of fear. "I sure hope she doesn't follow to much in Tsunade-sama's footsteps. Gambling and all that."

"Or Naruto following Jiraiya-sama's." Inoichi snorted. "It's quite obvious that he'll end up as his disciple like his father. The question is, would he also resist his perverse personality?"

Chouza snickered. "Minato had his own perverse side, you know? That time when he was drunk… Kushina was quite the Habanero while he was attempting to charm her. Not that she wasn't blushing herself."

"Interesting…" Hiashi commented. "To show that much finesse it just two months, that girl is quite talented."

Hanabi turned to her father. She just calmed down minutes ago. "Sakura-san was the Top Kunoichi of her batch, father. Wouldn't it be expected of her to be able to do that?"

Hiashi shook his head. "Listen to this, Hanabi. The Academy isn't completely foolproof. It's highly possible that someone highly capable would get a low grade before graduating. For example, look at Uzumaki Naruto. Yes, you claimed that he was a dead-last, but he was able to defeat Inuzuka Kiba, a powerful genin in his own right."

"Jiraiya-sama, the teacher of the Yondaime and one of the Legendary Sannin, was also a dead-last himself."

He took a look at Uchiha Sasuke and Hanabi followed his gaze. "It can also work in reverse. Orochimaru, the Top Shinobi of his own batch, was weaker than his teammate Jiraiya. And now it seems history is repeating itself. Uzumaki Naruto is obviously stronger than Uchiha Sasuke."

Hanabi was confused. "Wouldn't that mean that the title is irrelevant?"

Hiashi shook his head again. "No, it would mean that the genin has talent. But there are plenty of examples of those who hid their abilities in order to surprise their teammates after graduation. This time, we also have an example." He turned to look at the Nara father and son. "It's common to happen for the top people in the Nara Clan. Though the fact that they're lazy factors in, their extreme intelligence is always hidden until the right moment."

"I'm telling you a warning, Hanabi. Don't underestimate that Clan. If you do, you'll find yourself dancing to their tune."

* * *

**Sixth Match, Hyuuga Neji vs Nara Shikamaru!**

"It would seem that my lesson would have to wait for this match." Hiashi spoke. "I have told Neji this before, but we would have to see if he truly listened."

In all honesty, Hiashi knew Neji didn't listen. Neji was too proud of his own title to accept the possibility of anyone not holding it being strong enough to defeat him. He mocked Lee in front of him, claiming he was an example on how fate decreed dead-lasts to be forever dead-lasts.

He didn't have to look to know that Neji was still confused about Uzumaki Naruto.

"But Father, Neji's enemy looks extremely weak." Hanabi commented, still not understanding his lesson.

"Don't fall for the image, and look beneath the underneath." Hiashi quoted from Minato. "Several great shinobi have fallen for their dependence on first impressions."

"It seems that my son is serious about this match." Shikaku muttered. "Inoichi, Chouza, my son would win."

"Yes, I believe you." Inoichi replied, listening to Shikamaru anger Neji. "I see what you son is planning there."

"Using the pride of one's enemy against themselves…" Chouza added his two cents. "It's a common weakness of the Hyuuga and the Uchiha, with their belief of being the strongest."

"He won't even last ten minutes."

"**Kage Mane no Jutsu**, complete!"

"See?"

* * *

"But, but, why did Neji lose?! Neji is strong, unlike that wimpy Nara!" Hanabi sputtered, seeing Neji being completely trounced by his enemy.

"There isn't just one type of strength." Hiashi answered for her. "Neji was too easy to manipulate, and he was underestimating his enemy. Now do you understand what I was telling you earlier?"

Hanabi nodded.

Hiashi turned to look at Neji, who was stomping away to the back of the arena. 'It's my chance to finally curb Neji's pride. If I do things right, his attitude will develop for the best.' He held a scroll in his pocket.

It's time for Neji to finally find out.

* * *

**AN: There, finally finished! The next chapter would be the end of the tournament.**

**About the Unlimited Blade Works scene, it wouldn't be a crossover.**

**Rather, much like how Third Fang did, Tenten will gain Trace abilities.**

**To answer a certain reviewer, yes, I would share the various Keyblades to the other Naruto characters, though not in a way you guys would expect.**

**After all, I'm completely ignoring most of the things about the Keyblade.**

**I'm finding it difficult to write romance scenes… Will someone help me? Send a PM.**

***Arashi walks in front of the screen. He chuckles.***

**"You guys would like this."**

***screen shows: Omake!***

**Arashi Time!**

"Archer, you're such a riot."

The sarcasm in Arashi's voice could almost be tasted.

The white-haired man gave him a bemused look. "Speak for yourself."

"I'm not the person who refuses to party with us The Swords you know!"

"Truly, you need a better name for your group."

"Don't you mean our group?" There was now a thin grin on Arashi's face. "You know, you fit in with us! Though the reason the name is like that because we're all connected to swords in some way."

The Counter Guardian's eyes narrowed. "I just don't like associating with some of them."

"Is it because there are a _lot_ of Emiya Shirous in there?"

Archer huffed. "No. They may be in the past Emiya Shirou, but they aren't now. I have no care for that fact."

"Hmmm..." Arashi started, doubtful, hand on chin. "Really? Because when you met Sword of Akasha..."

"I just don't like looking at him. His presence is too unstable for my Structural Analysis." The Faker explained. "How about yourself? You weren't doing well when you met that alternate self of yours."

"Because it's my job!" Arashi retorted. "He's too crazy! I get headaches when I look at him!"

"See? Meet my point."

"Man, I'm thankful only I from my all of my world's possibilities had this much affinity to swords." Arashi let out a sigh of relief. "Anyways, I wanted to ask you. What do you think of Excaliber?"

"Which one?"

True, that question needed to be asked when it was about Excaliber. The multiverse had loads of them.

"The one that looks like a white penguin and talks in a really annoying way?"

"Ah." Archer made an annoyed look. "I hate him."

Arashi smiled. "True. You were always too fond of Arturia to accept any Excaliber other than hers as the real one."

"While we're at the subject of your group," Archer ignored the way the black-haired man mouthed 'our'. "Stop having parties in my Unlimited Blade Works!"

"But it works! Don't mind the pun." Arashi further grinned as Archer let out a sigh of defeat. "Imagine, all of us, one form of a sword or another, having our celebrations in this world of weapons of yours! It's perfect! It fits!"

Archer turned to the center of his world, the hill where he died.

"As long as next time I'm inviting Scab."

**Don't sue me for my references to other fics and series! I don't own them, I'm advertising them!**

Of course, Archer, Arturia, and Unlimited Blade Works is from the **Fate** series.

Sword of Akasha is from **Sword of Origin: Protector of Zero** by Whizkid. (Good fic, but the author hasn't updated for a while.)

The penguin-Excaliber is from **Soul Eater**. (Ex~caliber...)

And lastly, Scab (full name: Scabbard Oogakari) is from **Yet Again, with a little extra help** of Third Fang. (He is one of the best fanfic writers I found, and his works are epic in quality and in length.)

**Tah-tah!**


	8. Tournament PT 2

**AN:** **Come I have.**

**Oh, Fate Stay Night, you have once again ensnared me in your treacherous palms… But now, I have escaped you and your malicious pawns. I have escaped the FSN Fandom once again!**

**It seems that no one likes giving reviews around here…. I feel lonely.**

**Please, give me some reviews and PMs… It's my air, my life, what I need to survive! (No, not really.)**

**Anyways, this chapter will finish my Tournament Arc, and would be the start of the various character developments I would be applying in this story. At the end of this chapter, you would've also found out about a new Keyblade, so please enjoy your stay.**

**To a certain reviewer, please don't spread the spoilers, will you? It'll be more fun that way.**

**Edit: Same as previous two, minor edits on grammar and for continuity. I also didn't change Naruto's lines, and added an omake as always.**

**Disclaimer: I own Narut-*gets shot in the head***

* * *

**Chapter 8: Tournament PT 2**

**XXI. **

"Curse that Nara! How dare he defeat me in such a shameful manner!" Raged a certain Hyuuga behind the arena.

He had left the arena earlier just so that nobody would see his disgraceful tantrum. Finding a training dummy, he immediately formed a stance to begin one of his special moves. It was still rough, but it was still usable. Forming an image of his earlier enemy on the straw marionette, he rushed, hitting various points by memory.

"Eight Trigrams, 2 Palms!" He charged more chakra at his fingertips.

"4 Palms! 8 Palms!" He curled them, applying even greater force. "16 Palms!"

The stand of the dummy was breaking. He'll have to finish it before that happens. Channelling even more chakra, he struck even faster than before.

"32 Palms!" The image of Nara Shikamaru being struck down, chakra failing him completely, was in his mind as he continued to the apex of the technique. "64 Palms!"

The stick holding up the dummy and serving as its backbone snapped before it flew away. Panting, Neji fell to his knees before wiping away his sweat. As he raised his head, a sound of a kunai placed behind his head stopped him.

"Neji, you may be powerful and talented, but you are not unflawed."

He froze. Recognizing the voice, he cooly replied, "Are you here to mock my loss earlier, Hiashi-sama?"

"No, I am not. I am here to ensure you've learnt your lesson about underestimating others." The man coldly answered before taking away his kunai. "I had warned you of not seeing beneath the underneath, yet you didn't even listen. If you had been thinking, then he would've never fooled you with that Genjutsu with your Byakugan."

"I know that now." Neji spoke through his clenched teeth. "I won't underestimate that Nara anymore."

"Just the Nara?" Hiashi asked.

"What, are there anymore 'exceptions' as you would call them?" Neji snarked, his bruised ego removing his usual false respect. Hiashi didn't mind. "Uzumaki may be strong, but he will never defeat me."

Hiashi laughed, but his laughter was filled with regret. Neji was slightly surprised at the abnormal response his uncle gave. "You say he'll never defeat you, yet what had happened when you said the same thing about Shikamaru?"

"It was nothing but a lucky victory for him!" Neji shouted. "Fate probably decided to let that laid-back weakling win this time!"

Hiashi's eyes now spoke of even greater regret and sadness. "I don't know when you became like this, Neji." He placed a scroll beside the younger Hyuuga. "Take this, and read it. It's something I should've given you long ago."

He then left. Neji took the scroll before opening it.

* * *

The reddening sky as the sun started to set was lit in bright hues as various Konoha elite released various techniques in form of fireworks and displays. The event was at its peak, and the audience were roaring. The soon-to-be combatants were psyching themselves up for their upcoming matches… Or were they?

"Those who think our senseis put too much effort in this, raise a hand and say Aye."

A resounding 'Aye!' was heard all over the contestants' room, but one person wasn't raising his hand. Everyone else turned to look at him, and he shrugged, "What? It was troublesome."

The pink-haired girl face-palmed. She was rather awed by her enemy earlier, especially after he defeated that famous Neji without a scratch. But only 20 minutes in the waiting room, and all of her budding respect just died.

Honestly, he was too lazy about being a ninja.

Lee opened his mouth to shout something in his usual flamboyant manner, but the entire Team 7 glared at him, so he backtracked a little before speaking in a normal volume, "Let this tournament develop our Springtime of Youth and let the friendly fires of rivalry raise our spirits to be better than we were today!"

"Lee," Naruto placed his hand on the Taijutsu-specialist's shoulder. "You are a nice guy and all, but CAN YOU STOP IT WITH THE YOUTH?!"

"Be quiet, Naruto! You're loud yourself!" Sakura shrieked by reflex before blushing and calming herself down. She wanted to develop for the better, not go back to her initial treatment of Naruto…

'**She is right, master.**' Arashi whispered. '**You should apologize.'**

"Sorry about that, Sakura." Sakura shook her head.

"No, we're all rather tense due to this damn competition our senseis started." She said back. "It's not your fault."

"Hn, only a dobe and a fangirl will get anxious over something as measly as this." Sasuke muttered.

"Shut it, Sasuke." Shikamaru said, much to the disbelieving eyes of Naruto and Sakura. "Your finger has been tapping for a while now. Don't try hiding that you're also uptight about your incoming match with Naruto."

Sasuke growled, but before he could say anything, they heard Hayate announce the beginning of the first match.

"Dobe, time to go and be defeated." Sasuke declared before walking away to the door. Naruto frowned but followed him.

He stopped for while when he heard Sakura say, "Good luck, Naruto."

Looking back, he saw Sakura, Lee, and Shikamaru smile at him, expecting him to win.

He smiled. Finally, people in his age group accepted him.

**First Match, Uzumaki Naruto vs Uchiha Sasuke!**

"Naruto, I have been waiting for this match for a long time." Sasuke started, drawing his father's sword behind his back. "You've been getting stronger… You'll be a good challenge in my quest for revenge."

"I don't care for your revenge, Sasuke." Naruto replied, summoning his **Phoenix Ashes**, much to the surprise of the audience in the reveal of a different weapon. "All I want is to defeat you once and for all."

"So that's one of Naruto's other Keyblades…" Kiba commented his seat. "That **Fading Scars** was powerful, no doubt about it. I wonder what is the ability of that one."

"The name and design suggests something about flames." Shino added his two cents. "Fire Release moves, perhaps?"

"Chouji, do you have any idea what that does?" Ino asked her teammate, who was eating chips. "I mean, he explained to you some of his skills, right?"

Chouji shook his head, gulping down his pork chips. "He only told me of his Shadow Clones, Ino."

"I still can't believe that Naruto's problems with the Clone Jutsu was about too much chakra…" Ino whispered to herself. "Even now, I find it hard to make five of them, much less a dozen of high-performing solid ones."

"From what Shikamaru found, it's to be expected, right?" Chouji opened another bag. "I wonder then why he had so low scores in the Academy. Unlike Shikamaru, he actually put effort in it…"

Ino gave him a sad look. "If Shikamaru was right, which he usually is, our senseis had it against him in there. You remember how he was forced to sit out classes even if he didn't do anything?"

"And how he had different schoolwork from us?" Chouji added. When Ino turned confused, he explained to her, "Naruto once did a study group with us. Me, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Naruto. When Naruto arrived with a more difficult assignment than ours, we just assumed that it was a punishment for a prank."

"So many things our sensei did against him for his 'doing pranks'…" Ino started getting teary-eyed. "Letting him get bullied, separating him from the class, belittling him, sabotaging him… And I didn't notice, too buried in my crush on Sasuke-kun."

"And I'm supposed to be a proud Yamanaka who understands the mental states of those around me…" She tore at herself.

"Ino, don't do that." Chouji supported her. "Naruto probably has forgiven you, you know? He was joking with you earlier, right?"

Ino smiled a little. "That's Naruto, being to kind and forgiving… And I thought him as an idiot for that."

"He's still quite an blockhead you know, Ino." Chouji added. "How would he otherwise not notice Hinata's crush already?"

Ino laughed as she remembered that particular mission of hers.

Sasuke started the match by charging towards Naruto, sword positioned for attack to his side. Forming a few one-handed seals, he started a jutsu.

"**Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Mystical Phoenix Flower Technique)**"

He shot out several small fireballs at Naruto, who tore them apart with his Keyblade. Using the lagging flames formed by his slashes, he created a small doe made out of flames. It immediately rushed towards Sasuke, with Naruto following.

"Whoa…" Tenten said in awe. "A weapon that creates flame animals? Cool!"

Neji was quiet. He was silently observing the match without making any visible reactions.

Tenten, worried, turned to him. "Neji, what's wrong?"

He didn't reply.

"Tch, the Keyblade is too good for you, Naruto…" Sasuke growled before cutting apart the doe using his katana. "Is that all you've got?"

Naruto followed with a vertical slash using his Keyblade. Sasuke blocked, but before he could counter, a shadow clone popped into existence behind him, attacking him to the side, sending him flying. The two cuts of conflagaration in the air turned into six small fire sparrows, flying towards the Uchiha, hitting him at his limbs.

Sasuke's body popped, revealing a Kawarimi, and he reappeared behind the first Naruto, giving him a diagonal slash at the back. It also dispelled into smoke, and the real Naruto emerged from the ground below Sasuke, giving him a strike at his limbs. The other Naruto attempted a slash at his face, but Sasuke did a backflip, dodging them both.

But this time, the resultant phoenixes hit Sasuke straight at the chest, giving him second degree burns.

"Gah!"

"That style, Hayate, it's a version of your Mikazuki no Mai, right?" Kurenai commented. "For a new genin to become that proficient so quickly, and in just a week of instruction, Naruto is a genius in his own right."

Hayate shook his head. "No, make it several years of instruction."

Asuma was reasonably confused. "What do you mean? Weren't you teaching him for just a week?"

Yuugao spoke up. "I'll answer for that."

"Naruto-kun does have the talent to learn things quickly, and his out of the box thinking also helps in his strategies, but the real reason is that Naruto has a training method available only to him that allows him to learn in superhuman speeds."

"What's this learning method?" Gai asked. There was an unasked question of: 'Is it related to the Kyuubi?'

Hearing the unspoken question, Yuugao shook her head. "Normally, Shadow Clones are only used in recon, but in Naruto-kun's case, it becomes something else. Since he has lots of chakra, he can create multiple clones to join him in his training. The experience he regains after he dispels them allows him to master things in a very fast pace. For example, if he trains with nine clones, at the end of the day, he gains ten day's worth of experiences."

Kurenai's mouth gaped. "And how many clones does he normally train with?" She managed to speak out.

"A hundred and fifty, sometimes two hundred."

The silence started as the audience slowly absorbed the new information was deafening.

"Hoh, that Naruto-kun is amazing." Shikaku commented. "Minato has nothing on him; he'll be able to beat his level before he turns 15 at this rate."

"No, there's a trade-off." Inoichi added his two cents. "I know a lot about these things. Us Yamanaka have to limit the amount of information we extract from our enemies not because of chakra limits, but because our minds may be unable to stand the huge amount of data that it suddenly receives."

Seeing Chouza confused, he sighed but continued. "See it this way. If you suddenly gain the experiences of a year in an instant, what would happen to your mental state?"

Shikaku answered, "Your psyche would be unable to stand it. That is, if your brain cells don't die first of information overload."

Inoichi nodded. "Naruto-kun is special not only in his chakra but also in his cellular regeneration. Any brain damage that may occur is quickly healed afterwards. But it also calls for the question whether it affects one's lifespan."

"But it is still acceptable in low amounts." Chouza added. "For example, we can probably have all of our jounin train with one shadow clone during their individual training."

"Wouldn't that sort of training age him mentally?" Kurenai asked, slightly worried for the blond genin.

Kakashi shook his head. "It has its limits. Since most of the memories you'll receive are basically the same, you won't gain too much memories, but several very vivid versions of your training. It also helps in quickly getting down body reflexes, katas, and chakra control."

Yuugao finished the discussion with a warning. "To the various ninja listening, do not attempt to imitate this training method. Normally, creating a single shadow clone requires solid High-Chuunin level reserves, and the mental stress from the memories can also send you in a coma. Naruto is a special case, so don't copy him."

Sasuke pulled himself off the ground, wheezing through his pain. Understanding what he just heard, he glared at Naruto.

"You have it too easy for you. How do you like it, being served with a silver spoon?"

Naruto's clone hauled the original out of the ground, popping after he finished. As Naruto swiped at his pants, knocking of bits of dirt, he started chuckling. Looking at Sasuke, he spoke, "How do you like it, when it's not you?"

Sasuke growled, ignoring his burns to return to a stance. "What do you mean?"

Naruto outright laughed this time, though it was empty of humor. "You don't get it? Ever since you lost your family, you've been handed everything you needed to get stronger as you wanted. Now, when it's my turn, you're complaining?"

Angered, Sasuke once again rushed towards Naruto, only to stop when his surroundings suddenly burst into an inferno.

"What's this, Naruto?!"

Naruto had already dispelled his Keyblade in a burst of light. He turned away, speaking as he slowly walked back to the entrance of the waiting room.

"I wasn't simply fighting you straight on Sasuke. The time I created a clone, I didn't create one, but fifteen. One above the ground, fourteen under it using the **Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu (Earth Release: Hidden Mole Technique)**. I subtly substituted myself with one of them. It was only a matter of tunneling and placing small seals here and there to begin my technique."

He formed a one-handed dragon seal.

"**Hijutsu: Moero no Eden! (Hidden Technique: Burning Eden)**"

The inferno from the technique increased in size and heat, capturing Sasuke in a firestorm and leaving him covered with third degree burns. Sasuke shouted in pain before blacking out, and he was left in the middle of a field covered with ashes and charred soil. A Naruto-clone emerged beside him, signaling the judges to end the match.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!"

There was a variety of responses. Some were of awe and wonder, others were of respect, but some were of fear for their Uchiha. Hayate went closer to Naruto before giving him the mike.

"Don't worry about Sasuke-teme. I'll heal him in a jiffy. He won't even get a scar."

The crowd visibly calmed down, remembering the earlier abilities of Naruto's other Keyblade, but there was now a warning in their minds to never mess with the blond again, now that he's allowed to have retribution for any mistreatment.

The disqualified genin who were now assembled in a single area to talk about the matches were dumbfounded. They couldn't get it into their minds what they've heard and seen. Ino was pale, Shino was increasingly silent, Chouji forgot his chips, Kiba's jaw was unhinged, Hinata fainted, Tenten was in awe, and Neji was still unresponsive, but you could see his eyes were tinged with respect.

"Damn, Naruto was that powerful…" Kiba managed to say, still in shock of the earlier blaze. "I'm happy he didn't use that Keyblade on me earlier…"

"He wasn't afraid to inflict serious wounds on Sasuke-kun," Ino said, her face losing pallor. "All because he knew he would survive and he could still heal him to complete health…"

Tenten, however, was thinking something very differently from those around her. 'Naruto's Keyblade did something to me.' She remembered the unlocking sound and Naruto's advice. Would she receive something similar or some sort of strange power?

She closed her eyes before opening them quickly as the world around her flashed in her vision into that red hill of blades. Another blink, and she was back. 'What was that?'

Shibi readjusted his shades. In his shock, the pair slipped a little, almost revealing his eyes. Turning to his right, he watched the reaction of his friend, once again making quite a scene out of herself.

"Kiba was so damn lucky that time…" She muttered with wide eyes, more to herself than to Shibi, "So damn lucky…"

Shibi spoke. "I believe it wasn't luck, but a conscious choice on Naruto-kun's part, seeing that he probably planned on hiding his skills unless the situation called for it."

He turned to his side, sensing someone very familiar to him approaching. "Isn't that true, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen stepped out of the shadows, causing those around him to bow. Raising a hand to ease them, he answered. "Yes. This tournament was deliberately planned by me and their jounin-senseis, though not everything went as expected."

Shibi nodded. "You paired them up in order to let them learn life lessons outside the field. First, Shino's loss helped him gain experience in losing part of his hive and respect from Kiba. Chouji's loss was probably a message to learn strategies to counter speed, and Kiba's loss was to have him learn humility."

Hiruzen acquiesced. "All you said was true. But young Hinata managed to surprise us all when she managed to tie with Tenten. It was supposed to be a lesson for the young Hyuuga to learn how to battle far-range enemies, but she somehow countered Tenten without any prior teaching." He smiled. "Truly, she has talent. All she needed was some encouragement."

"And then, the match between Sakura and Ino was supposed to be a battle to reveal the weaknesses of our current kunoichis due to their wrong goals when they graduated from the Academy. But Sakura managed to develop extremely well, slowly shedding away her childish infatuation with the young Uchiha to become a respectable kunoichi."

"And the last match of the first round," Hiruzen looked into the arena as Hayate announced the next match after cleanup had finished. "Shikamaru-kun was supposed to learn defeat and to rise from it to become a great ninja. But without warning, he consciously decided that he would do it himself, defeating Neji and turning it into a lesson on fatalism."

Shibi then turned back to the field before looking at Sakura and Shikamaru exit the waiting room. "And the previous match, a lesson of respect, hate, and envy. The aim was to help Uzumaki Naruto gain the respect of his peers and village, especially with the increasingly envious Uchiha Sasuke." He shook his head when the match was officially started.

"The next match is completely unplanned, and the lesson for both contestants was already learned. This one is totally unpredictable."

* * *

**XXII. **

**Second Match, Shikamaru Nara vs. Haruno Sakura!**

Shikamaru dodged the punch aiming for his chest, sending back a kick to Sakura. She dodged, catching his leg and threw him several feet away. He had to pull himself quickly though, or else he would've received a very painful dropkick that managed to create a crater several feet in diameter.

He regretted defeating Neji now. Sakura was way more troublesome than the Hyuuga, all because she was smart enough to see through most of his quick plans. She immediately rushed at him in the beginning of the match, not letting him form any seals. If he hadn't thought ahead and made the seals for the substitution before he entered the arena, he would've been embedded in the wall by now.

"Did you really have to get that strong, Sakura?" Shikamaru grumbled, dodging another haymaker. "Damn, guys shouldn't lose to girls…"

A vein popped in Sakura's forehead. "If you mean that us girls can't compare to you guys…"

She jumped high, positioning for another drop-kick. Channeling a huge amount of chakra that terrified Shikamaru, she crashed into the ground, creating her biggest crater yet.

Shikamaru, who somehow managed to escape unscathed, felt his knees go weak as he lost balance and fell to the ground.

"You'll be in for an ass-kicking."

"To think that Sakura would get this good…" Kurenai mumbled to herself. She turned to Kakashi. "Have you tried teaching her some genjutsu or iryoninjutsu?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Sakura's probably talented in those, but my specialty is ninjutsu and taijutsu. All of my genjutsu are too high-level for her, and my chakra-control is not good enough for things other than first aid. Since we had Naruto, I delayed teaching her even just those."

Asuma lit a cigarette. "Then she's currently a taijutsu specialist capable of deflecting most genjutsu. Sounds like what Gai would do." At the horrified look Kakashi had, he laughed before calming down. "Still, that would mean Shikamaru wouldn't be able to use any of those simple genjutsus he normally would use to distract his enemies…"

Gai gave a 150% Youth smile. "Sakura-san would win this match! Shikamaru-kun may be smart, but he would still need to gain some time the strategize and apply them. At this rate, Shikamaru-kun will be hit before he would succeed!"

"Can't I just sleep already, man…" Shikamaru muttered to himself before backing away several yards from another crater. "If things go at this pace, I'll lose mobility and get hit! It looks painful…"

He took out several kunai and shuriken. "Let's start the plan then."

"No, you won't!" Shouted Sakura, forming a few seals and creating a two clones. "Let's see you differentiate between me and my clones when I'm attacking you!"

"Taking a page from Naruto's book, I see." Genma commented. "Would that be enough to stop a Nara?"

Shikamaru shot out two kunai, one to the left Sakura, the other to the right. When the two arrived to hit their targets, they passed through, revealing themselves to be the clones. But to the surprise of Sakura, a measure of ninja wire connected the two kunai, cutting into her and bending to bind her arms.

Shikamaru threw several more pairs of kunai and shuriken, all of them carrying wire and further binding Sakura.

"There, is that enough…?" Shikamaru spoke to himself before starting the **Kage Mane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Techinique.)**. But to the audience's surprise, the bound Sakura popped in a burst of smoke, revealing itself to be a **Kawarimi**.

"Sorry about this, Shikamaru!" Sakura smirked behind Shikamaru, aiming a chakra enlaced fist toward his back.

Shikamaru only smirked back before once again forming the rat seal, eyes closed. "Nope, that's my sentence."

The various kunai revealed themselves to have flashtags attached to them, and as Sakura attempted to hit Shikamaru, they burst in the same time in a flash of light, overpowering the natural light and redirecting Shikamaru's shadow behind him. Sakura could only gasp in surprise when her punch stopped only a few centimeters from Shikamaru's back.

"**Kage Mane no Jutsu, **complete."

"Hoh, it's rather rare to find genin capable of those level of tactics…" Commented Hiruzen as he relit his pipe. To hell with cancer, he'll rather die with it than fade away behind the Hokage seat. Though, perhaps Naruto would be able to do something about that. "Shikaku should be proud of his son, though I'll rather have it that the boy didn't inherit his father's laziness."

"It has its own benefits." Shibi calmly analyzed the battle. "His lack of determination helps in maintaining his composure, or at least turning what should have been a full-blown panic attack into some annoyance."

"Haha! Not to mention how much it helps in making your enemy underestimate you AND get mad in the same time!" Finished Tsume, nodding to Shibi's comments. "If we Inuzuka weren't so hot-blooded, then I would have tried doing the lazy-act at least once…"

"Damn! I didn't expect you to counter my attack. How did you know when I was going to strike?"

Shikamaru tried stretching his stiff body but found it difficult. Was Sakura somehow defying the effects of his jutsu?

"Simple. I knew you were going to use Kawarimi, and all I have to do was see ahead to see where you would attack. Seeing that it was more common people would attack at their enemy's blind spot, I immediately prepared for the off chance of a back attack."

Sakura attempted to mold chakra for a last stand. If she didn't break out of his jutsu soon enough, Shikamaru would probably knock her out. Sensing what she was going to do, Shikamaru immediately reformed the Rat seal, reinforcing his jutsu.

"Gah! Stop trying to escape, damn it!"

Sakura smirked. "Why would I do that?" Channeling her inner core, her inner self, she raised her body's physical capabilities in an instant. She could hear in her ears her inner personality screaming for vengeance.

"**I won't lose, SHANDAROOOOO!**"

Shikamaru gulped at Sakura's attempts to escape. He had a plan earlier to manipulate Sakura to take the fall, but the fact they were facing the same direction made that difficult, especially since just moving was tedious due to her resistance. As Sakura slowly broke herself free, Shikamaru took all the force of his will to follow Plan B.

Sakura, managing to snap Shikamaru's jutsu, paused herself for just a millisecond before doing a final punch straight towards Shikamaru's face. But seeing him raise his hand, she rushed. If he was planning even one more thing…

4 feet till impact. 3 feet. 2 feet. 9 inches. 4 inches from Shikamaru's face…

"I FORFEIT!"

There was a huge simultaneous facepalming within the audience.

Yamanaka Ino bashed her head in her seat. She was enticed by the entire match, especially since she was close to both of the contestants. As the two of her friends fought in a display of power, ability, and tactics, she couldn't help but feel her chest beating like a drum. Chouji was beside her, screaming along her cheers for their friends.

In that last moment of the punch, she almost wanted to close her eyes so she wouldn't see the impact.

_Almost._

But Shikamaru forfeited at the last second, ending the match before the battle finished. To her further shock, Sakura followed, also forfeiting from the rest of the tournament, claiming to be unable to fight anymore. Tie declared and both of them left the arena, Ino still couldn't comprehend the matches she had just seen.

Naruto completely and quickly defeating his rival Sasuke. Sakura fighting Shikamaru with punches that could crush rocks. Matches that completely showed how much she lagged behind her peers, how much she was currently the weakest of her batch. Shikamaru was probably at her level in physical abilities and firepower, but at least he had his intellect. She? Mind-jutsus that leave her open to attacks whether they hit or not.

"l can't believe that they've gotten this good…"

Chouji opened another bag of chips. "Shikamaru was always like that. He only needed a good motivation." He gave her a look. 'At this rate, both of us will be left behind…'

"Finally, the last match." Shikaku muttered underneath his breath. "This entire tournament is too troublesome for my tastes…"

Chouza elbowed him in the side. "You're just saying that so you can immediately go and congratulate your son, aren't you?" He knew that even though Shikaku would try and pretend to be apathetic about his son's achievements, the lazy man couldn't help but be proud. Well, in his own way.

Shikaku snickered. "Shikamaru? He couldn't even use any jutsu other than what the Academy taught and the **Kage Mane no Jutsu**." He turned away, saying something like, 'I'll have to teach him something else later.'

Seeing his best friend attempt to deny his pride over his son, Inoichi only shook his head. Naras were really complicated in their own way. Lazy on the outside, one heck of a puzzle and clockwork in the inside. He entered enough of their minds to require his own consultation to a fellow Yamanaka.

* * *

**XXIII. **

**Final Match, Uzumaki Naruto vs. Rock Lee!**

"Naruto-kun, I've been expecting this match ever since you've defeated Kiba-kun." Lee started, forming a stance. Right hand up in front, left arm folded behind his back. Walking in a circular motion, he watched as Naruto mirrored his footsteps. "Both of us, former dead-lasts, to battle the last match in this tournament."

"Don't worry about it, Lee. I've been waiting for it also." Returned Naruto. In a flash of light, he took out one of his Keyblades, to which Lee immediately attempted to react. But to his surprise, when he arrived at the blond's position in a dash of speed, the KeyBearer was already gone.

Looking around warily and preparing for any sudden movements from the ground, he waited, only to gasp in surprise when he felt pain from his abdominal section. Turning at the source, he was shocked to see Naruto with his **Fading Scars** embedded in his body.

"**Shadow Eludating Strike.**" Naruto murmured before jumping away from the stunned Lee. "I see now…"

"Kakashi, what did your student do?" Gai asked in a calm manner that unnerved those beside him. "Naruto-kun disappeared without a trace this time, only to reappear moments later. And that initial Keyblade of his… Was different from what he calls **Fading Scars**. Is it another one?"

Kakashi was glad that he had a mask on or otherwise people would've seen him smile fondly. Gai was normally one hell of a flamboyant man, but when he took these moments of seriousness, all Kakashi could help but think was respect. The man was perceptive, to say the least, and at points oddly philosophical.

"Oh, it's a new one alright. But it's Naruto's choice to explain it to those who want to know."

Gai nodded solemnly. "I see." He suddenly jumped up on the table before standing to shout at Lee. "Lee! Remove your weights! Show them the power of your youth!"

"Hai, Gai-sensei!" Shouted back the thick-browed boy to his sensei.

Shinobi from Hokage to genin alike could only gasp in surprise when they would see an 13 year-old boy throw off a pair of weights that formed 6-foot diameter craters each.

"Damn, Lee and Naruto aren't pulling their punches in this match." Commented Shikamaru as he attempted to follow his fellow genins' movements in the midst of battle.

Lee was speedily attacking and countering through each and every attempt of Naruto to attack. Clones, flame animals, traps from speed seal techniques, and flying Keyblades alike attempted to hit the green-clad boy, but none managed to hit. The same could also be said for Naruto though. As if seeing Lee's attacks before they even started, he would dodge, replace himself with a clone, dig, or at points disappear completely from the arena only to come back a few seconds later. If it wasn't for Lee's exceptional speed, the blond would've managed to land more hits, but both of them managed to last 10 minutes unscathed so far in the match.

He could hear several voices of his friends in the background, but he didn't give them notice. Something in the match was calling out to him ever since Naruto pulled out that first Keyblade of his. He noticed that the feeling spiked whenever Naruto disappeared, and coincidentally at those moments Naruto would quickly switch between his Keyblades.

Was what was calling him one of those Keyblades? He continued to watch the match, unknowingly dropping into a sort of Zen state.

The feeling was getting stronger as Naruto more and more used that Keyblade of his… And suddenly, something in him clicked as he heard some sort of unlocking sound. Closing his eyes, in the darkness of his eyelids, for some reason he could still see where Naruto would move to. And when he used that trick of his again, Shikamaru was already muttering something in his breath.

"Understanding those in the shadows. The hidden protector. The concealed blade. **Shadow Dancer**."

And when Ino turned to Shikamaru, she would question whether she imagined Shikamaru having shadows around his eyes for a split second. Little did she know she was looking at the first Kage Sennin (**Shadow Sage**) of the Shinobi world.

"Preparations complete." Naruto spoke to himself with a smile. "Lee, prepare yourself."

Naruto took out his right hand and replaced his current Keyblade with another. He remembered how he received it:

"_Naruto. Promise me you won't forget us, those who came before you, and those who protected you as a kid."_

"_Don't worry Inu-nii! I won't ever forget about it!"_

_Kakashi smiled. He wasn't wearing his mask, so Naruto could fully see his joy. He and his otouto were looking into his most private of all books in his collection._

_It wasn't one of Jiraiya-sama's books though. It was something more important and closer to the heart of the silver-haired man. He openly smiled as he gazed upon the various pages of his book with Naruto, the boy commenting here and there with a grin in his face._

_It was a scrapbook filled with memories of the man named Hatake Kakashi._

_It contained photos of his former genin team with Minato-sensei, Rin, and Obito in their most cheerful of moments. Those were taken by the would-be Yondaime himself and given to him to cheer him up when Rin died._

_To make him remember to live for them._

_It contained more photos, this time of himself, Minato and a red-haired woman. She was who would be known as the Red Habanero, Uzumaki Kushina. She was who Kakashi saw as an older sister of sorts. These photos were taken by Jiraiya-sama himself and given to him when the couple died._

_To show them to their son like what he was doing now._

_And the last batch of photos he took himself, containing memories of Naruto's childhood. Those unfortunately few and far-in-between happy moments of Naruto's life as a toddler. They contained some of those who were now the closest to the boy's heart. Hayate, Yuugao, Genma, Tenzo, the Ichirakus, himself, and the Hokage. Some of them were different from how they were now, but they were all Naruto's guardians in the background. All of them knew and helped the boy in his darkest moments and protected him from his worst enemies._

_These photos were originally for when they were all gone._

_But since Naruto now knew of his heritage, like everything else that was bequeathed to him, he could give the book to the boy himself. And due to that, Kakashi was happy._

In a flash of light, Naruto summoned his most recent Keyblade. It was made of black metal that seemed to absorb light around it, given it an aura of shadows. Smooth obsidian spikes adorned its hilt and tip, forming a sort of star the end. Shaped like a lightning bolt with a short chain connecting the grip and a star made out of the same steel, it made for a dark image, but Naruto could only feel safety and comfort from it, like staying in the shade of one's favourite tree.

He called the name of the Keyblade.

"**Shadow Dancer.**"

Lee was rushing towards him now. Absentmindedly summoning a dozen more clones before body-flickering somewhere farther from the taijutsu specialist, he prepared his next move. This was the first time he was doing this again ever since that battle with Ebisu so he took care to maintain his calm.

Taking out his left hand, he called for his strongest Keyblade at the moment.

Remembering his other promise, he called up power within his veins. Like last time, light once again spread out from his left hand to his entire body, glowing in the energy of power. Air picked up around him, forming a small gust with him in the center as he called out the name forming in his lips.

"**Third Form, Zeal: Playful Trickster!**"

But this time his clothes were different. The design was the same, but instead of colors of red, orange, and yellow, his clothes turned into shades of black and gold. The flames turned dark blue, and the embroidery turned silver. His buttons were replaced with black pearls in obsidian.

It still didn't change the fact that he suddenly turned into an image of royalty though.

…Wait, was that some fangirl squealing he heard in the audience?

Well, damn. Anyways, to the final step of the plan while Lee was once again attempting to shake himself out of his surprise. Forming a dragon seal, he activated the various smoke seals he planted in the arena. This style was still too flashy, and Kaka-sensei warned him of allowing people to connect him with his father.

Time to get serious.

As Hinata activated her Byakugan she could feel her cheeks burn with heat as they stated to flush. Who could blame her? She just saw her long-time crush in some _very_ grand finery. It didn't help that the image fueled more of those daydreams of hers with her as Naruto's princess.

She shook her head. She had to watch the match.

Looking into the smoke, she could only gasp in surprise as she realized she couldn't really see through the smokescreen. Naruto was channeling an exhorbitant amount of chakra inside the smoke, and probably the smoke itself was made with some sort of chakra-conductive powder.

Disappointed she couldn't see what her Naruto-kun was doing, she sighed. Turning to the other genin behind her, she meekly shook her head, causing them to also sigh. The only one not doing it was Shikamaru, but the boy was unconscious for a while now. Ino and Chouji were taking care of him ever since he suddenly gasped in surprise before blacking out when Naruto-kun summoned his **Shadow Dancer**.

Turning back to the arena, she was once again surprised when Lee was already down on the ground with Naruto above him. Hayate was announcing the blond's victory, holding out the boy's hand as the champion shouted in his usual jubilant hyperactive manner.

"Winner of the Konoha 12 Free-for-All Tournament, Uzumaki Naruto!"

* * *

**AN: Wow, awesome fight scenes with awesomely alliterative word plays. What more do you want?**

**To those who want to ask why the hell didn't Lee use the gates, well, let's say that the gates would still be a trump card for Lee in the Chuunin exams so he wouldn't reveal it yet. As for Naruto, he did reveal that he could use an awesome powerup sequence, but people still don't know what he can do due to that smokescreen of his.**

**The statistics for the **Shadow Dancer** would still be unannounced though. Cookies to those who guess correctly to the ability of the Keyblade. Hint: It has something to do with shadows. (Who said the hint wasn't already obvious? XD)**

**The match between Lee and Naruto would have greater consequences for the following chapters though, and starting from the next chapter would be the Wave Country Arc.**

**I can't promise to update soon. My parents are making it difficult for me to type new chapters. Hopefully I'll manage to finally get a stable access to a computer soon though.**

**Expect this from the next chapter: the aftermath of the Tournament and the beginning of the Wave Country Arc. Foreshadowing on our dear Naruto's enemies part and more problems would come up for our protagonist! The poor writer would be in some trouble as he still doesn't know what problems he would give!**

**Give reviews to this poor author please?**

***Sakura appears in a swirl of cherry blossoms.***

**"Te-he~ So, everyone, this is..."**

***image shows, Sakura and a punching machine that's destroyed***

**"O-ma-ke!"**

**Ms. Punch-a-lot**

Ever since Kakashi realized that indeed Sakura had one of scariest punches he had seen from kunoichi, he immediately set upon trying to make it constant. Problem?

Sakura punches and kicks really well **only** when she's either angry or frustrated.

So, Kakashi had to find some sort of trigger for that response.

_Trial 1_

"Okay, since we know Tora irritates you, let's try that again."

Kakashi clapped his hands as Sakura formed her stance.

"One, two, three... Go!"

Sakura let out a small cry as she punched the ground once more, forming a small crater.

_Coincidentally_, her punch caused a small rock to fly directly towards Kakashi's face.

As he absentmindedly blocked the rock, Kakashi murmured, "That was obviously deliberate. Are you that mad I made you guys do all those missions?"

_Trial 2_

"Okay, since we know _I _irritate you, try focusing on that."

Before he even clapped his hands, Sakura was already screaming for a punch, evidently aimed for Kakashi's face.

Of course, the scarecrow dodged it, and the punch went flying towards a tree.

Kakashi's eye widened almost humorously when the _entire tree, roots and all,_ was blasted away, destroying two other trees in its path.

As Sakura was gasping for air, Kakashi sweatdropped. "You were that angry?"

_Trial 3_

"I've heard you used to get really mad at Naruto in the past." Kakashi spoke through a speaker he left beside Sakura. "Let's try that."

He was taking no risks of getting punched by her now.

"Ei." Sakura punched the ground half-heartedly.

"Sakura, that isn't a punch."

"But sensei, Naruto's way too nice now..." Sakura whined. "I almost forgot about what he used to be you know!"

"Okay, then. Well, let's try your frustrations on how Sasuke keeps ignoring you."

"**SHANDAROOO!**" Sakura punched the ground once more, making a six-foot diameter crater.

A moment of silence. "You were that frustrated?"

_Last Trial!_

"Okay then, Sakura." Kakashi's speaker started on the top of a tree. The entire training ground was destroyed by now.

"Try imagining this situation. I arrived late to your training before making you guys pay for it,"

A vein popped in Sakura's huge forehead.

"Got you a mission on Finding Tora and Naruto was absent,"

The vein doubled in size.

"And after you somehow caught the cat with barely minor injuries,"

It pulsed.

"Sasuke ignored you on the way home."

"**SHANDARO!"**

A huge crash was heard. After the dust settled, Kakashi went pale as Sakura was revealed to be in a ten-foot diameter crater.

"Note to self, never anger Sakura."


	9. Interlude: Naruto's Daily Life

**AN:** **Here's the new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto and KH peeps!**

**Chapter 9: Interlude: Naruto's Daily Life**

* * *

**XXIV. **

"_Okay, you guys. Since we won, we would have the first C-rank mission in your batch's teams. And since you still need rest after that tournament, tomorrow you kids would have your first day-off!"_

"Yahoo!"

"Would you please quiet down, Naruto? It's seven in the morning."

Naruto sweatdropped. When did Iru-nii enter?

"He's right you know Naruto." A formerly-sick man commented to the side. "Can't we sleep in peace?"

A purple-haired woman also added, "We had lots of work yesterday due to that tournament."

The drop became bigger.

"Iru-nii, Hayate-nii, Yuugao-nee, why are you guys here so early?"

Gravity-defying silver hair was revealed as Naruto's apartment door opened.

"Well, otouto, they slept here after they did overtime work. The three of them had to finish all the paperwork yesterday's event left. Even with shadow clones - Nice idea by the way- they finished late into midnight."

"Eh! Kaka-sensei, why are you here too?!"

The dog summoner made an eyesmile. He raised a peace sign.

"Hehe. I'm here to taste that famous cooking of yours!"

Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose. "So he comes late for every meeting, but arrives early to freeload on Naruto?"

"Hey! Aren't you guys freeloading too?" Kakashi retorted indignantly. "So what if I come along? From what I've heard, the three of you have been doing it for the past month."

The Chuunin and the Elite Jounin continued to bicker animatedly.

Naruto murmured, weeping anime-tears to the side, "Aren't I supposed to be the one saying those things?"

'**Give up, master.**' Arashi whispered. '**This is a fate you can't escape.**'

"Okay, Arashi." Naruto quietly replied, sighing. "I'll just whip up something for them and hope it'll be the last one I'm making for them."

The sword spirit shook his head in Naruto's. '**That won't work master, it won't work.**'

'I can hope, can I?'

An hour later, four adults and a twelve year-old were rubbing their bellies in bliss, though a certain inner swordsman was calculating an appropriate price to suggest to his master about his cooking skills. It won't be good after all if his master ended up doing extra missions because those older than him were mooching off him, right?

A yowl was heard from outside the window. Hearing that, Iruka turned to Naruto, who was washing the dishes.

"Naruto, your charge is here early!"

"Hai, Iru-nii!" Leaving a clone to do his chores, Naruto immediately prepared to leave.

Finished, he opened the door and picked up a certain cat that since yesterday started hiding out in his home. Scratching behind its ears, the cat purred before going to sleep. Sighing, he placed the cat on his head.

"Oi, Naruto! Are you leaving?"

Naruto turned to the speaker, before widening his eyes in surprise. Was everybody suddenly taking an interest in meeting him early today? Because he knew for a fact that it wasn't normal for Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji to all be outside this early. The three, from what he heard from Iruka, usually took to sleeping late. Why were they up and here at 8 am?

"Our parents were interested in meeting you, you see." Ino explained for him without needing to ask. "We were told to invite you to our clan houses."

"Ah, is that so?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head with his hand before placing it on the cat. "But I have to return this guy first, and I have a volunteer shift in the hospital. I'm sure I can visit after those, but can you guys wait?"

Chouji took a bewildered look at the sleeping animal on the blond's head.

"Naruto, is that… Tora?"

It looked like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Naruto grinned in response.

"Yup! This guy here likes hanging out with me whenever he escapes from Shimiji-san, so I don't actually have to search for him anymore." He further stroked the cat's fur, placing it in his arms. Tora only purred. "I don't really get why people are so terrified of the little guy."

Shikamaru only sighed at the comment. Expect the unexpected from Naruto, he made a note in his mind.

"We're fine with going along with you, Naruto. In fact, we would want to."

Naruto blinked. What's up with the three's interest with him?

'**Master, it's obvious. They're probably curious why you have changed so much.**' Arashi explained for him '**Or perhaps they're interested in knowing how you got so strong. Knowledge is power after all.**'

Naruto mentally nodded at Arashi's words, accepting them. And perhaps, he could even become greater friends with the three. Other than yesterday, he had never talked to the Ino-Shika-Chou trio ever since the Graduation.

"Ok, then… My daily life is quite boring, you know?"

Continuing to walk to the Hokage's Tower, the four made small talk, recounting of the two months of training they had before the tournament. For some reason, Naruto found the three rather docile, not starting conversations, instead waiting for Naruto to prompt them.

For now, they were in the middle of talking about the Keyblade.

"Naruto, I have a question." Shikamaru paused his walking, starting the course of the conversation for once. "That **Shadow Dancer** of yours, from its name, it manipulates shadows right?"

Naruto nodded. One of the common things about his Keyblade was their names were sure tells of their abilities. But the question here was actually **how** it controls those shadows. He had expected one of the Nara clan to ask about that, to know how similar his Keyblade's abilities were to their shadow jutsus.

"Yup, but can you guess what it does?"

Shikamaru gave him a dry look. "Teleportation right? Or teleportation from one surface of a shadow to another."

Naruto's eyes widened. It wasn't that obvious, right?

"It was obvious, unlike what you are thinking now." Shikamaru smirked. "Of course, considering the fact that you kept disappearing off the arena yesterday and appearing somewhere else, one can surmise that either you hid yourself or transported yourself somewhere and back during those moments."

"And given that Gai-sensei commented out loud that he completely couldn't sense you, we can assume it wasn't the former. Of course, the fact that the Konoha's Green Beast isn't a sensor can be part of it, but it was unlikely that you were capable of a good enough jutsu that was enough to hide from a Jounin."

'**He completely analyzed you, master**.' Arashi smirked. '**That kid is indeed terrifying as you thought.**'

Naruto sighed out loud. "Shika, you're such a killjoy. Why can't you just leave a mystery alone?"

"It's the Nara Clan's duty to solve mysteries, you know?" Shikamaru said matter-of-factly. "And I had enough reason to do it."

Naruto raised a brow. Seeing this, Ino spoke up, "Well, Shikamaru fainted like a lovestruck maiden yesterday when he saw that Keyblade of yours!"

Shikamaru retorted indignantly, "I did not faint. I blacked-out! And it wasn't my fault, I heard a strange unlocking sound before lost consciousness, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah, what ever makes your lazy ass sleep at night, Shikamaru." Ino said offhandedly.

"W-wait!" Naruto barged in between the two's conversation. "Unlocking sound?"

Chouji nodded. "Shikamaru has been telling us that when he focused on your Keyblade, he heard an unlocking sound out of nowhere."

Naruto placed a hand on his chin. Shikamaru too? Yesterday, it was Tenten. He didn't tell her about the Book, mainly for safety reasons, and he still hadn't asked about it to Arashi. The man was strangely silent yesterday during that incident.

'**The answer for that master is that I wasn't in your head at the time.**' Arashi explained. '**I had a chat with the guardian of that world when that weapons mistress accessed that world.**'

Sensing Naruto's curiousity, he continued. '**I can't explain the entire thing now, but to be short, when she connected to me, even a just for a moment, one of her hidden potentials were opened, allowing her to be able to enter that world.**'

'Then, Shika connected to you yesterday?'

The sword spirit nodded mentally. '**He probably felt a strong enough affinity for my **Shadow Dancer **that even without a touch he managed to unlock one of his potentials.**'

"Shikamaru," The Nara turned to the blond who was quiet for a while now. "Tell me if you suddenly became able to do something you weren't able before, so I can help you. That unlocking sound has probably something to do with that."

The pineapple-head nodded before halting to a stop. "Naruto, we're here at the Hokage Tower."

It only took a few minutes for Naruto to hand in Tora in a cat cage. Returning down to his friends with an envelope of money in hand, Naruto pondered on what to cook for his nii-chans and nee-chan.

'**And he asks himself why the three, and recently Kakashi, always mooches off him**.'

"Anyways, continuing our chat, should I explain about the **Shadow Dancer** in detail?"

The trio nodded. Unconciously mirroring Iruka's habits, Naruto opened his mouth to explain.

"Well, to be simple, Shikamaru is right about everything he said." He raised a finger. "It allows me to travel between shadows, or more specifically, to and from what I call the **Kage-Sekai **(Shadow-World)."

Seeing their confused expressions, Naruto continued. "Well, think of it as a strange black and white version of our world. Just that there is no sense of gravity and resistance there whatsoever. Time also passes much slowly there than here."

"Anyways, to enter it, I have to 'mark' a shadow first before using it as an entrance to enter the world."

Shikamaru raised a brow. "'Mark'? What do you mean by that?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Well, first I have to use my Keyblade to split several small bits off of my shadow-"

"Wait!" Shikamaru cut him off. "Your Keyblade can cut shadows?! No kage jutsu does that!"

"Yup!" Naruto nodded. "And from experience, it doesn't have to be my shadow. I can split off part of your shadow with no problem, and I can use it to make a portal for you to enter the **Kage-Sekai**. Of course, you can't exit that world unless I make another one with a specific thought in mind for you to escape with…"

"Pause." Shikamaru raised his hand. "Explain what you just said."

"I can 'mark' shadows as many times as I want, but I can only make them capable of only one thing. Either I make them as 'entrances' or as 'exits'. For example, I can 'mark' the shadow of a tree as an entrance, but no matter how many times I try repeating it, unless I dispel my earlier 'mark' I can't turn it into an exit."

"Of course, the fact that I can 'mark' shadows inside the Shadow-World because I have the **Shadow Dancer** makes it much easier. Pulling in and out other people is more difficult, but possible. I call it Shadow Travel!"

"So, your Keyblade apparently allows you to travel time and space?" Seeing Naruto nod brightly, Shikamaru had a headache. At this point, the blond didn't really need Hiraishin unless he wanted to travel huge distances. The only problem for him now actually was to travel fast enough in that **Kage-Sekai** of his to achieve an almost complete imitation of the Yondaime's signature jutsu in the middle of a battle.

"It has one more feature that's also cool!"

To this, Shikamaru felt his headache worsen. What more would Naruto say, a more solid form of umbrakinesis (control of shadows) that various Nara members can only dream of in their lazy sleep?

Naruto summoned his **Shadow Dancer**. A slight_ something_ responded in Shikamaru's head.

Looking around, Naruto wandered off the path to go to the shade of a tree. "Look!"

With a wave of his arm, Naruto slashed his Keyblade in a crescent motion, barely touching the tree's shadow. To Shikamaru's surprise, it **pulled** the shadow, visibly reducing its area on the ground, dragging it along the dark blade's motion. The blond took out his empty hand, grabbing at the shadow that was raised unnaturally from the ground.

To this, Shikamaru couldn't help but curiously come closer to the KeyBearer, poking at the shadow and feeling its consistency. When he felt it completely solid, he groaned in his mind. The blond was breaking too many rules when it came to shadow manipulation.

It was a well known fact that one was supposed to be unable to forcibly control something else's shadow.

That rule? Broken when Naruto managed to force something else's shadow off the ground.

Second, even though there were jutsus that seemed to give shadows a 'volume', it was impossible for a shadow to gain mass, and so therefore, volume. **Kage Nui** (**Shadow Sewing**) and **Kage Shibari **(**Shadow Strangulation**) are examples of this. Even though they are capable of interacting with solid objects, they didn't have volume. They were more similar to impossibly thin strands of paper. It can be used to cut or wrap at something tightly given enough force, but they didn't exactly enough volume to be considered unnegligible.

But the shadow Naruto was holding was completely solid in his hand, three dimensional and to an extent resisting any attempt at changing its shape. In fact, probably only shadow manipulation can change it now.

"I can do this!" Naruto grinned before using his Keyblade to cut off some of the shadow from where he was holding it, causing the rest to fall back. Closing his eyes for a second, the 'solid' shadow changed shape into three shuriken, of which he threw, perfectly hitting only 3 inches from each other at another three.

Another moment of concentration, the shadow shuriken turned back into their two dimensional form, pooling at their positions before quickly moving from the tree's bark to the ground, going back to the original tree's shadow.

Still doing that grin, Naruto turned to the three who were surprised at the exhibition of skill. "I can use any shadow my Keyblade touches into rough weapons or shields that I have in mind."

After this, it was a simple to explain to Shikamaru on the way about the finer details. Other than controlling, separating, and giving shadows volume, the Keyblade could do nothing but Shadow Travel. Also, if Naruto made his weapons from people's shadows, he could use them so that whatever is stabbed by them has their shadows 'marked'.

Limits on Shadow Travel were that it needed at least 100 square centimeters of area for a 'marked' shadow to allow for shadow travel. Also, it wasn't that Naruto would go through 'marked' shadows like they were chutes or holes, but more of he could enter or exit the **Kage-Sekai** anywhere close to the 'marked' shadow.

The two talked all the way to the hospital. Ino and Chouji were happy enough to just listen. They weren't as interested in the intricacies of shadow manipulation as their two friends.

* * *

When they arrived, a doctor walked up to Naruto.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, you're just in time for the next patient. Will you please head here? Your friends can watch through the window, I would give them company."

Nodding sunnily, Naruto hurried to his patients of the day. When he left, Ino turned to the doctor.

"Sensei, how many people do Naruto heal whenever he arrives? Name is Yamanaka Ino, by the way."

The doctor fixed his glasses before replying. "Well, Ino-san, I'm Yakushi Yashiro. He heals around eight or nine people every time he's here."

Chouji raised his hand. "Umm… Yashiro-sensei, given that Naruto heals quickly and perfectly from what I've heard, wouldn't he have more patients? I'm Akimichi Chouji."

Shikamaru answered for his best friend. "Chouji, Naruto can't heal too many, or otherwise the other doctors would lose their jobs. Anyways, I'm Nara Shikamaru."

Yashiro nodded before turning to the window showing Naruto's first patient. It was an old man who arrived earlier the day, diagnosed with a terminal case of lung cancer. Minutes later, Naruto exited the room after being thanked resolutely by the previously-dying old man.

"There's the next patient, Naruto-kun." Yashiro pointed towards another room. Turning to Shikamaru, he explained, "You're right, Shikamaru-san. But there's another reason. Usually, Naruto-kun's patients only need an **Esuna** and a **Cura**, sometimes **Curaga**, to be fully healed. But **Esuna** has a setback."

He then explained how the two healing jutsus worked from their observations.

"**Cure** and its varieties have no observable setbacks, but **Esuna**'s problem is that it isn't conducive to the development of a stronger immune system of its patients." He pointed Naruto again to another room. "Normally, when you recover from a disease, you become more resistant to that disease, sometimes never having it again, am I right?"

The three genin nodded, Shikamaru already knowing about that.

"This is because when you recover; your body's defenses have already learned how to fight off that disease by creating enough antibodies." He walked further down the hallway, looking at the paper in his hands to find Naruto's next patient. "But since **Esuna** bypasses that recovery process, there is no development of such antibodies."

He pointed Naruto to another room right after the kid escaped from a particularly clingy patient.

"For example, if you naturally recovered from chickenpox, you'll never have it again. But if Naruto uses **Esuna** to hurry that process, you are left still vunerable to catch chickenpox again. And so, unless the patient is in real danger of death, we don't recommend on having Naruto heal them."

Ino placed a hand on her chin, not really understanding the entire thing. But she had another question.

"Yashiro-sensei, wouldn't Naruto get sick from being exposed to sick people so much?"

To this, Yashiro smiled sincerely. "True, we were worried about that at first. After all, Naruto-kun, no matter what he says about 'not being a brat', is still young and thus still doesn't have a strong system to shield him from the worst diseases. But it seemed that our worries were unfounded."

He pointed Naruto to another room. The blond waved at his friends before rushing to his next patient.

"The** Fading Scars**, it seems, cleanses whatever location around Naruto of any disease-causing agents. Even just his prescence is actually enough to make it easier for patients to recover. Truly, Naruto-kun is a miracle worker."

Yakushi Yashiro really respected the kid named Uzumaki Naruto. Being a trusted doctor to the Hokage, he had access to the most important cases, the reason why Hayate's case was under his jurisdiction. He also took care of Naruto as a baby, personally able to attest to the various assassination attempts on the blond before the worst of the villagers gave up on killing the child.

He also watched Naruto from afar whenever coincidence made their paths cross ever since. And he was happy that Naruto didn't let himself be broken by his hard life.

He respected Uzumaki Naruto for his unfailing capability to see the bright sides of life and to forgive. At first, he felt troubled whenever Naruto was chosen to heal one of his childhood tormentors. But even though under scathing words and actions, the blond apologized to them to whatever wrong he may have done to make them so angry. He would then proceed to heal them completely.

His actions in the hospital were for free too; the hospital received entirety of the payment, though it was reduced to make it easier for those who had the worst cases. His prescence too helped the hospital by drawing in and opening up space for more patients. His cheery personality and cleansing aura also made the hospital a better place to work at, inviting more staff and convincing those who considered retiring to stay.

These actions gained not only his trust but the respect of those who formerly hated the kid. Now, Yashiro knew, whenever Naruto walked in public he never had to feel that amount of hate that he used to receive.

Smiling, Yashiro found himself talking about Naruto's earlier times in the hospital. Like when it was released that Naruto could restore lost body parts, dozens of retired ninja due to lost limbs or organs immediately applied to be one of Naruto's patients. It was quite chaotic, having to make the Hokage involved to properly ID each and every shinobi, checking their backgrounds to be safe.

It was good they did that. Two spies, one of **Kumogakure no Satou **(**Village Hidden in the Clouds**) and the other of **Kirigakure no Satou** (**Village Hidden in the Mist**) were revealed to be in those who applied. Ever since then, every patient Naruto would have would have their backgrounds checked carefully first, otherwise they would be ineligible.

"That's the last one, Naruto-kun. Today's winner of the ticket."

Confused, Chouji turned to Yashiro again. "Ticket?"

"We have a raffle to the patients with conclusive backgrounds in the hospital whenever Naruto-kun is scheduled to arrive," Yashiro explained. "The winner gets a ticket to be one of his patients. This is the only exception to the 'serious cases only' rule."

They heard a shout from Naruto. Rushing towards the room, they opened the door to see Naruto pointing a finger at his patient. They immediately closed the door to just leave a small opening.

"Whoa, Fuzzy-Brows, why are you here?!"

A confused Lee was beside a smiling Gai. Tenten was sitting at the side, just as surprised as Naruto, but over why the blond was here. The Elite Jounin replied for his student.

"Well, Naruto-kun! My dear Lee over here is here to be healed by the legendary miracle worker we've heard so much of. As you may have heard, Lee can't mold chakra. We were only here to get stomach medicine after he ate too much after yesterday's celebration for on the top 5, but when we won that ticket, I thought, why don't we try having my dear Lee's Flames of Youth strengthened by repairing his chakra system?"

"Anyways, Naruto! Why are you here?" Tenten asked, still not understanding why Naruto was in the room.

The blond grinned. He summoned the **Fading Scars**. "Well, who do you think this miracle worker is?"

Tenten's eyes widened.

Naruto walked to Lee. "So, Lee, you were unable to mold chakra? So that's why you never used any jutsus yesterday. If you only told me after we fought, then I could have healed it at that point."

'**You already have used **Cura **on him, master, but his condition remains unchanged.**' Arashi commented.'**Wouldn't that mean that his status is probably classified as 'abnormal', instead of 'damaged'? You should use **Esuna**.**'

Nodding to Arashi, Naruto raised his Keyblade. "**Esuna!**"

A small globe of white light flew from its tip, covering and causing Lee to glow. The taijutsu-specialist raised his hands, looking at them, inspecting them if anything visually changed. Nothing.

Seeing his confusion, Gai suggested, "Try molding chakra to make a **Bunshin**."

Lee nodded. The seals were still in his mind even though he gave up on ninjutsu long ago. Doing as what his former sensei told him, he formed the seals, closing his eyes, half-expecting to fail.

"**Bunshin no Jutsu**!"

But when a pop was heard, he opened his eyes to see a duplicate of himself.

It was something that he only previously dreamed of…

Lee found his eyes with tears came down streaming from them unconciously. Gai, who was also crying for his student, gave him a hug. Even Tenten wept a tear, knowing how much this meant to Lee.

Yashiro and the Ino-Shika-Chou trio closed the door. Team 8 minus Neji needed some private time to thank Naruto.

An hour later, a loud announcement from Gai was the signal for them to enter. Opening the door, they came upon the sight of Lee shaking Naruto's hands forcefully, spewing various compliments and promises of future aid. As for Gai, the man was crying out various sentences that ultimately only meant 'Springtime of Youth'.

But as for Tenten, the girl was thinking carefully, something that didn't escape Shikamaru's notice.

"And so, Lee, let's start our training to master your newly restored youth!" Gai proclaimed, and Lee yelled out 'Osu!' The two taijutsu specialists gave their final goodbyes before turning to Tenten. The girl gave a sharp glance at Naruto.

The boy gave her an expression that told 'We need to talk.' The weapons mistress nodded before speaking up, "Gai-sensei, can I go along with Naruto today? There're some things I want to ask about the Keyblade."

The bowl-cut man gave a full pearly-white –did that glint made a 'ting' sound?- smile before nodding. "I'm sure you would want to know more about weapons, Tenten. Good! Yes, you can go with Naruto-kun."

The Ino-Shika-Chou trio gave each other a look. This would make their plans later a bit more complicated.

* * *

**XXV.**

The five genin were walking from the hospital, heading for the area where the Akimichi Clan was situated. They were silent, and the air was a little tense.

Tenten suddenly stopped, attracting the stares of the other four.

"Naruto, can you explain why I'm starting to have dreams of that hill?"

Naruto started a conversation with Arashi.

'Arashi, do you think I can tell them about you?''

Arashi gave an affirmative sound in his head. '**Yes, I think you could trust them. To be honest, I've been wondering when you would tell somebody about me. Even Iruka only found out because he was with you.**'

"Guys, can you promise to keep something a secret?"

The four turned confused before nodding. What was Naruto about to say?

"Well, the Keyblade is a special thing. Even I don't truly understand it. But there's somebody who does."

Tenten turned interested.

"Naruto, who's this someone?"

"His name is Arashi."

Shikamaru's eyes widened before gaining a look of understanding. "I did wonder who that guy was…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Shika, you know him?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Well, you see, I was curious about you ever since the Graduation. So when I came upon you playing Shougi with a clone of yours, and kept _losing_, I was interested. After you left your clone alone, I invited him for another game. He then introduced himself as Arashi."

Naruto then gave Arashi a sharp mental questioning look. 'And you didn't tell me this, why?'

The sword spirit only gave a mental shrug in return.

"W-wait, Naruto, you lost against your own clone?!" Ino sputtered. 'Isn't that supposed to be impossible? Weren't clones supposed to be less intelligent, or at most just as smart as the original?!"

It was Naruto's turn to shrug. "Arashi isn't a normal existence. A day after I got the Keyblade, he appeared in my mind. He called himself as the spirit inside my Keyblade."

Chouji buggered. "S-spirit? Then is the Keyblade cursed or p-possessed?"

Naruto shook his head. "Here, I'll show you guys."

He formed a ram seal before modifying it, putting down his middle fingers before raising his pinkies.

"**Alter Clone no Jutsu!**"

The Alter Clone was currently the fruit of Naruto's research in attempting to make a perfect clone. In essence, it was a Shadow Clone, but with a modification in mind. It was supposed to plant a certain idea or thought process into the clone, making infiltration much easier. The cost for this was that it couldn't return any of its memories, making it considered as a failure.

But it was enough to implant 'Arashi' temporarily into the clone, and as long as Naruto had the Keyblade, he could return. This perfected the Alter Clone, but it was still not what Naruto wanted.

The clone that appeared gave a very Kakashi hello, two fingers in a salute. "Yo." He made a seal before smoke once again reappeared; replacing his looks into what Arashi really looked like. "I'm Arashi."

There was a tense silence before the Nara came walking towards the newcomer.

Shikamaru waved his hand, giving the sword spirit a manly hand grip. "Nice to see you again, Arashi."

Naruto, bemused and slightly irritated at the familiarity between the two, turned to ask Arashi his own question. "Arashi, can you tell us what happened to Tenten and Shikamaru, exactly?"

The two mentioned people gave each other a look.

Arashi gave a thin smile before nodding. "As you wish, master." This sparked a reaction from Ino, but the girl kept quiet.

"The Keyblade is a weapon, but first and foremost is a key. It may be capable of great feats of power and destruction, even creation, but it is a key nevertheless, meant to be used to release limits or seals."

"And when they heard that unlocking sound, that ability came into play; releasing their hidden potentials and untapped talents. In fact, it's likely that without the Keyblade, they wouldn't have been able to use them in their lifetime."

He turned to Shikamaru. "From what I've felt, his ability lies in the manipulation of darkness and shadows. Truly, his own affinity for his clan skills made him more compatible for such power."

He then glanced at Tenten. "But as for her, it's one of the rarer sorts of ability. She gained a link to another world separate from this one, managing to get a glimpse of its guardian."

The girl tilted her head in question. "Worlds?"

"Have you heard of other realities separate from ours?" Arashi asked.

Shikamaru nodded. "Like the Summoning World?"

"That is one of them, yes." Arashi folded his arms. "But there are far more, far many too count other worlds other than this one. They could be the same as ours, or they could also be different. Some are separate by only the most minor of differences, while the others are so distinctly unlike ours that even the laws of the natural world are fundamentally changed. You, Shikamaru-san, know of one already, the world my master calls the **Kage-Sekai**."

"She herself is connected to another, the world of infinite weapons; fakes, but great weapons nevertheless. The soul of a man whose very core was a sword; and its name is **Unlimited Blade Works**."

Tenten made a sound. "That guy called it that!"

Arashi nodded. "He was the guardian of that world, and he would probably one day talk to you once more. I suggest you also make your own attempts to talk to him, for he could teach you many things."

Naruto raised a hand. "Arashi, you know him? You seem to know a lot. Is he like you?"

The spirit gave one of his infuriatingly cryptic smiles. "We have many things in common, but we're fundamentally different, master." He chuckled as if it was an old joke. "He's a friend of mine, and yes, we actually have a lot alike."

"Anyways, are there anymore questions for my lowly self, master?"

There was that sarcasm again. Naruto groaned before turning to his friends. Seeing that they didn't have anymore questions, he shook his head. Arashi dispelled himself.

After a short while of silence again, Ino shook her head.

"Are you sure you're alright Naruto?" She sighed. "A voice in your head can't be good for your sanity."

'**At least he's getting better at the mentality part.' **Arashi commented before Naruto groaned once more.

"He's one heck of an annoying guy, but he's helpful in his own way." Naruto replied. "At first I was getting worried if I was getting crazy and forming a case of MPD, but in the end I lost interest about that line of thought. Hahahaha…" He shed some imaginary tears. "Does the symptom of laughing at your own jokes and sighing at yourself really a prerequisite for crazy…?"

'**I'm so happy for you, master.**' Arashi deadpanned. '**At least you're smarter.**'

The four gave him a strange look, but they shrugged at each other before continuing at their path towards the Akimichi Clan.

They knew enough about the Shinobi World to know sanity wasn't correlated to being a great shinobi.

* * *

"Welcome to the Akimichi Clan!"

It was around noon when they arrived at the Akimichi Complex, and Naruto and the gang were hungry. The fact that the entire place smelled of great food didn't help.

"Has Chouji arrived with his friends..?" Chouza asked from no one in particular as he walked out to the entrance. "Oh!" He immediately walked up to Naruto, shaking his hands. "My name is Akimichi Chouza, and welcome to my home. We're about to cook lunch, so come on in!"

And the word 'cook' Naruto's eyes brightened. "Can I cook with you guys?! I love cooking!"

At this Chouza came alive. "Hoh? Of course you can!" Putting his hand at the blond's shoulder, he ushered him into the kitchen. Turning to the others, he signaled them to wait for a while.

As for Naruto, let's just say he enjoyed himself.

_Thirty minutes later…_

"Itadakimasu!"

The food finally cooked, six people tucked in to the meal. At the head of the table was Chouza, and to his right was Chouji. As the invited guest, Naruto sat to his left, and the rest sat in their seats somewhere around the table.

"Naruto-kun, let's see how good your food is…" Chouza started, taking his chopsticks to take a small piece of fried fish Naruto cooked. "Here." He bit into it.

No reaction. The others, except Naruto, turned curious before tasting the food themselves.

Silence.

Naruto started to sweat. Did he make a mistake or something...?

"""DELICIOUS!"""

Everyone chorused before they started to speedily take more bits of food from the containers. The rice was quickly depleting before Naruto's eyes. Even Shikamaru was rushing in his eating.

'**Master, I suggest you get some before you…**'

'Shit!' Naruto thought as he joined into the rush. Taking one of his spring rolls, he bit into it.

It was, in a word, heavenly. Naruto didn't realize that in his being accustomed to low-quality ingredients, primarily due to the fact his home was spending for four, currently five, people, he never realized the real level of his cooking.

And as for the Akimichi, well, they were the clan of gourmets. They had the best sort of ingredients.

Low-quality ingredients + Great skill = Great food.

High-quality ingredients + Great skill = '**Why the hell are you thinking now master, get more!**'

And so, in less than fifteen minutes, all the dishes on the table were empty.

"Puah! Truly, Naruto-kun, your cooking is masterful!" Chouza proclaimed as the cleaning staff fixed the table. "It was almost a riddle for me to choose whether to hurry and swallow to get more or to savor it first…"

He shook his head.

"Anyways, let's get to business."

Hearing that, Naruto immediately wiped his entire face with a napkin before nodding, sitting up straight.

"We have a deal for you. Yesterday, your **Fading Scars** had piqued us of the Akimichi Clan. Gourmets we may be, but our real focus is the development of new and better soldier pills. But there is the difficulty of testing the pills themselves."

"Most people think that it's the medics that develop the pills, but the truth is they're only the ones helping us develop them. For example, if a pill fails, they're the ones to ensure our volunteer survives and the ones to find out what went wrong. This is our request. Would you help us in the development of our Clan's Three Color Pills?"

This caused Chouji's eyes to widen before he sat straight up. "Tou-chan, are you really…?"

At Chouza's nod, Naruto turned curious. "Ummm… Chouza-san, what are the Three Color Pills?"

It was Shikamaru who answered. "It's the Akimichi Clan's treasured secret. Those pills are only usable by their clan, and they help in greatly increasing the capabilities of those who take them for a short time. But they have a consequence."

"Whoever takes them, unless given high-quality medical attention, is ensured a long, painful, death."

To this Naruto turned silent. Chouza however, turned to the son of his best friend.

"How do you know so much?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "My father told me about it." His eyes turned to his feet. "He warned me about what might happen if Chouji was forced to…"

Chouza nodded. It was the right thing for Shikaku to do.

Naruto spoke up, a little quieter than usual. "Of course, I would help you guys."

To this Chouza smiled. "Thank you so much, Naruto-kun. With you around, maybe we can manage to develop a non-lethal version of the Three Color Pills."

"And as for exchange, what do you want?"

Now it was Naruto's turn to cheer up. "Well… I want to be able to sometimes cook here! Also, I want to have a daily supply of my own ingredients for my home! Or maybe some recipes too…?"

"Haha! Then it's a done deal!" Chouza proclaimed before standing up. "Then the next one would be at Inoichi, right?"

Ino nodded. "Otou-chan wanted to talk to Naruto about something…"

"Then you guys better head off now, or you'll be late."

A few minutes later, while he and his friend were leaving, Naruto turned back to the clan house. He remembered what happened earlier in the kitchen.

"_I'm very sorry, Naruto-kun."_

"_Huh, why is that, Chouza-san?" Naruto asked, while managing the wok containing his original fried rice. "You haven't done anything that merits apologizing…"_

"_No…" Chouza shook his head. "It isn't about something I've done, but more of something I didn't do. I'm sorry I left you alone, even if I was under orders. It wasn't the right thing to do to Minato's son."_

_Naruto froze before remembering to remove the wok from the flames. "You knew…?"_

_Chouza nodded. After a moment of silence, Naruto spoke up first. "Don't worry about it, Chouza-san."_

"_I understand. It might have been unfair to me, but really in the end, it wasn't your fault, right?"_

_Chouza smiled. Naruto was truly like his father._

As they were walking, Naruto wondered to himself, what would've happened if he was publicly known as his father's son?

'**Master, it would've made things only worse.**' Arashi commented. '**From what you've read, didn't both sides of your family have their own enemies? Since you were orphaned, you would've been kidnapped or killed if you were publicly known as the last of your father's line.**'

Naruto nodded to himself. Arashi was right, and it was best he stopped that line of thought.

* * *

"Ara, are there customers- Ino-sama! Your father has been waiting for you." Started the Yamanaka clan member at the shop's front. It was quite often now that Inoichi would hire his own clan members to manage his store, especially when his own family were busy outside. "He's at the back, tending to the garden."

Ino nodded before waving at her friends to follow her. Naruto quietly followed, observing the others. Shikamaru and Chouji were merely treating the place like it was their own home, but Tenten was a little uncomfortable. He noticed that the weapons mistress was quiet even back at the Akimichi's.

"Tenten, are you alright?"

The girl snapped out of her daze before turning her head to meet Naruto's eyes. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something."

Curious, Naruto tilted his head. "Was it because of what Arashi said?"

She nodded. "Well, it is huge to take in, you know? And the dreams aren't helping."

"Dreams?" Naruto asked. "You mentioned them earlier. Are they about that world?"

"Not as much as the world as the weapons in them," She replied. She waved her hands as if to motion a weapon that was supposed to be there. "Every now and then, even while awake, I would see all sorts of weaponry, truly amazing and beautiful ones, but even though I feel like I could take them, they suddenly go out of reach."

'Arashi, have any idea what that means?' Naruto asked the inner swordsman.

'**Master, it sounds similar to what the guardian of that world does.**' He replied. '**Tell her that it would fade away soon enough, and it would be best if she would talk to him herself.**'

Naruto passed on the message to Tenten, to which she nodded. Turning to the other three, he caught sight of Ino waving him over.

"Naruto! Here, Daddy would like to tell you something."

Naruto ran up to her, followed by Tenten. When he came close, he found himself under a careful gaze from a man similar to Ino. Her father perhaps?

"I'm Yamanaka Inoichi, Clan Head of the Yamanaka and the owner of the Yamanaka Florist." To this Naruto nodded. "There's something I want to ask."

"Shoot."

"Well, it's about that mind-reading ability of your Keyblade." Inoichi waved his hand. "We Yamanaka specialize in mental techniques, and so we want to research on that skill of yours."

Naruto nodded. This also he expected to happen. Iruka had frequently mentioned the similarities of what his **Fading Scars **did to several of the jutsus of the Yamanaka Clan.

"In exchange, we would help in mentoring you on the art of mind-reading. I'm sure you're aware of the weakness of the skill, correct?"

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I had plenty of lectures about it from Iru-nii."

"A wise course of action," Inoichi agreed. "Several of my clan members also have mentioned that you have a passing knowledge in gardening, is that right?"

Naruto lit up. "Yeah, I also like gardening!" He waved a hand at his waist, unsealing a small scroll from one of the seals embedded in his clothes. He took to making sure he was prepared for everything, a task made easier by fuuinjutsu. "Here, take a look at this!"

Curious, Inoichi took the scroll before opening it. It was filled with more seals. Opening one, he found himself holding a rose.

It was a peculiar thing, a white papery flower with a stem of a strange coloring of black with spots of white, making it look like it was spottled with falling snow. There were thorns of course, eye-catching and functioning as ornaments to the strange blossom, but they were dull and impossible to harm anyone.

Noticing a caption beneath the seal, he found himself reading,

_Winter Bloom, 30__th__ generation._

This flower was a treasure! The Winter Bloom was a legendary plant hybrid that was claimed as one of the rarest varieties of rose out there, and the care for one was deemed so difficult that only the best gardeners were capable of raising even one of them. They also contained very exotic chemicals that were capable of calming down people even with just their smell.

This flower alone was worth ten times more than any other flower in his store!

"W-what?!" Inoichi found himself slightly stumbling. "A Winter Bloom? This is something that cannot be raised with just a 'passing knowledge' in gardening!"

Naruto grinned. "I got some seeds in the past from one of the patients I healed. It was difficult to grow, but I've got a trick with them."

He took back the scroll before unsealing something else from it, a packet of seeds. In just a glance, Inoichi knew they were seeds of the Winter Bloom. Naruto took a look around before finding a suitable spot. He took out his **Fading Scars**, using it to dig out a trench for the seeds. Spreading a healthy amount of seeds, he closed up the hole with more earth before placing his hands on the ground.

He took a moment to focus before closing his eyes. Inoichi's mouth fell when the filled trench was slowly, but surely, being filled by sprouts that were fully growing into blooming plants. When all of the plants opened in full bloom, Naruto took a step back before letting out a deep breath.

"There!"

Inoichi still found his mouth wide open, which he quickly closed, and he turned to the other four behind him. They had similar reactions; this was not something normal. He let out a sigh of relief. At least it wasn't just him.

Ino found herself blushing. Why did she did Naruto wasn't cool in the past? Look, he was actually quite handsome when you look at him closely, strong, a great cook (she knew that she was hands down defeated at that point) and a gardener of merit! That sight of him, focused and determined as he placed his hands on the ground, background filled with beautiful flowers that he grew himself, made her regret that she promised on helping Sakura help Hinata gain the love of the blond.

Damn Kami-sama, why o why?!

She found herself rethinking on whether she would actually follow what Sakura said. Hinata didn't say dibs, right?

…Heck, she'll help her. 'Damn, I'm too nice for my own good,' Ino thought. It didn't have anything to do with the fact Naruto was a little too thick-skulled when it came to love, alright? Don't judge her!

But it won't leave Naruto free from teasing… Fufufufu…

"Naruto-kun, could you explain what you just did?" Inoichi rubbed the bridge of his nose. Damn, Minato's son is too unpredictable… "Because from what I know, seeds **aren't** supposed to grow that fast and that easily…"

Naruto's smile didn't fade. "You see, you see, I had this idea of making my plants better using **Cure**, but when I did it, they suddenly started growing so fast! And when I tried it with seeds, they didn't sprout immediately, but when I planted them and applied some of my chakra, they grow like this!" He waved his arms over the flowers. "That's why my garden is so low-maintainance now!"

Inoichi found himself with a headache. But his head shot up immediately. This could help his store! "Naruto-kun, could you sometimes work here and help 'tend' to the plants? I'll mark it as a solo mission whenever you do."

Naruto brightened before nodding energetically. "Sure! But can I also have some flowers to add to my garden? I like mixing them up to develop new varieties…"

Inoichi immediately agreed at that. New plant breeds would always help. He took out his hand.

"Agree?"

Naruto clasped at it. "Yes!"

Thirty minutes later, Naruto was leaving the store richer and carrying several packets of seeds to cultivate. They were gifts, as Inoichi told him, and as exchange for the batch of Winter Bloom he grew in their garden. They would be a great source of income, Inoichi said, as they were really popular and helpful for those in hospitals.

Before he left, Inoichi had dragged him alone before apologizing himself. Likewise to what he told Chouza, Naruto accepted the apology.

Next destination: Nara Clan Complex.

* * *

**XXVI.**

"Where is that Kiba?!"

How did things get like this? Right, he helped the escaping Kiba run from his mother.

A very amazon woman came up to Naruto. Her smile promised of pain if he ever lied.

"Naruto-kun, have you seen my son?"

Her eyes were barely hiding her obvious blood-lust. What the hell did Kiba do to merit this sort of anger?!

"N-nothing, Tsume-s-sama…"

He wasn't the only one shaking. The other four behind him were doing the same.

Her grin became wilder. "Really now? Then why do I smell my pup on you? Strange, but his smell ends right here."

Naruto shivered in place. "I-I don't know, Ma-am!" He saluted.

Her face turned into a frown. "Just call me Tsume-san. Anyways, I can't find my son and his pup. Have you seen them?"

"He went that way!" Naruto pointed to the right. Tsume's nose started to sniff.

"Strange, I could've sworn there was no smell of Kiba from that direction…"

She made another feral grin.

"Thanks for the help. Kiiiiiiiibbbbaaaa!"

When the angry mother went out of their sight, Naruto sighed before taking out his **Shadow Dancer**.

With a wave of his arms, Kiba reappeared from his shadow.

"Puah!" Kiba let out a deep breath. "What was that place?!"

"That Kiba, is the **Kage-Sekai**." Naruto sighed. "What the hell did you do, Kiba? I had to use a shadow clone to bait her away…"

"It's your fault!" Kiba pointed at Naruto, blaiming him. "It's because I lost to you that's why my mom is so determined to make me suffer for it!"

Akamaru barked on his hair.

A vein popped in Naruto's head. "No, it's your fault you lost!"

They would've started arguing if it weren't for a ghastly voice that entered their ears.

"_Kiiiibbbbaaaa…._"

Naruto cursed. With another wave, he took his shadow from the ground, widening it to form a round portal in midair.

"I didn't want to do this, but everyone, ENTER!"

Since nobody really wanted to be left again in the presence of Tsume, they all nodded before jumping into the black void that was Naruto's shadow. Naruto quickly followed after them, the portal disappearing with a loud _pop_.

When Naruto took himself from the ground, he came to see his companions looking all around them with the mix of awe and interest.

"Welcome everyone, to the **Kage-Sekai**. Please keep close to me and please do not wander off." He murmured sardonically before motioning everyone to come close. And so, as they came near him, Kiba yelped as the shadow-version of his mother came close to them, attempting to look but to no avail of the missing children. It was strange in their eyes as Tsume was moving in a pace much much slower than before.

"Wha- Why isn't Tsume-sama seeing us?!" Ino shouted before she clamped her mouth with her hands. But shadow-Tsume still didn't sense them. After a while, she stomped off towards her previous direction, but there was no sound that came from her footsteps. "Huh?"

"This is a place that mirrors ours; separate but connected." Naruto answered for her. "This place is the **Kage-Sekai**."

"So this is the **Kage-Sekai**…" Shikamaru murmured. "It feels like a nice place. My body feels much lighter… Wait didn't Naruto say…" His eyes widened as he started to float.

"Shika! Whatever you do, don't imagine yourself floating! Think of ground, of gravity pulling you down!" Naruto shouted, running up to the Nara. But before he came close, the lazy genin already landed.

"So gravity and resistance is subjective here." Shikamaru stated as he waved around his arms. It felt much lighter and easier to move than usual. "And time is indeed slower." He continued as he looked around. The wind was blowing the leaves of the trees around them at a snail's pace.

"See? Like I told you," Naruto grinned before turning to his other friends. They were also trying out the world around them. Tenten was trying to throw some of her weapons, but the subjective point of gravity made her weapons go out of control. She mastered throwing them again soon enough though.

"Okay… Let's go back to the real world…" Naruto started before Ino gripped at his hand, stopping the movement of his Keyblade.

"Can't we just stay here to go to Shikamaru's house?! I want to try flying!"

It only took Naruto a second to agree. Ever since he practiced this Keyblade (which was only two days ago), he never really had the time to try flying. "Sure!"

He turned to Kiba. "Kiba, since you're escaping from your mom, want to try coming with us? We're going at Shikamaru's house."

The dog boy smiled wildly. "I _do_ want to fly… Yeah, I'm coming with ya."

A minute later, all of them were hovering several feet of the ground. It took much longer for them to gain an appreciative height, as several of them found it difficult to imagine flying. But soon enough, they were moving quickly several feet above the trees around them, speeding towards the Nara Complex.

"Look, it's Sakura!" Ino pointed downwards at the shadow version of Naruto's teammate as they were flying by. "Can we take her with us?" Sakura was walking in the middle of the park, probably enjoying her free time relaxing.

Naruto nodded. He landed beside shadow-Sakura before waving his Keyblade at her shadow. His companions started laughing and snickering as they watched Naruto almost get punched by Sakura as he suddenly appeared in her vision. A minute later though, Naruto opened another portal to get back to the **Kage-Sekai**, Sakura with him.

As Sakura was trying to get herself to fly beside Ino, Naruto thought to himself:

'I could earn from this…'

* * *

Clack. Clack. Clack.

In front of the Nara Clan Complex, a man was playing Shougi by himself. Recently, other than one other person, he had nobody that could make him play seriously other than himself. Strange though, his son, that other person, recently started to become better in the game; was there somebody else playing with the kid? Maybe he should ask him later…

Nara Shikaku is now playing alone on the porch of his house, waiting for his son's arrival. His wife, Yoshino, is inside the house busy ordering around his unlucky Clan members on the management of the home.

And so, when he sensed the sudden arrival of seven people in the middle of his complex out of nowhere, he became intrigued. Walking calmly to the general area they appeared in, he listened in to their conversation.

"…Seriously, Kiba, you suck at doing this. I had to heal you three times already!"

An indignant sound was made at the initial speaker. "Shut up! Just because you have the Keyblade…"

A slight amount of killing intent filled the area. This was the sort Shikaku was used to: an angry woman's killing intent.

"Naruto, Kiba-kun, are you guys fighting…?"

There was a promise of pain in that feminine voice. The two arguing males immediately stopped fighting.

"Hahahaha… Sakura, what fighting? Kiba and I are buddies, right?"

The speaker must've elbowed the other person as a squawk of surprise was heard. But that was soon covered up, and the second voice was heard again.

"Y-Yeah! We aren't fighting at all!" The next part was a murmur. "Damn, Sakura, why did you have to get so scary…?"

At this point Shikaku had concluded who his visitors were: his son had arrived with his friends. He went out of his hiding space.

"Yo, Tou-san." His son waved at him, probably having already sensed him. "Naruto, Tenten, Sakura, Kiba, this is my dad, Nara Shikaku."

As the mentioned four's gazes fell on him, Shikaku added his two cents. "Just call me Shikaku. I've guess my other teammates have already talked to you guys, right?"

Naruto nodded. He pretty much expected by now what he was here for.

"But unlike the two, I've merely invited you here to talk and perhaps enjoy your time here. After all, it's your day-off right?"

Shikaku placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled. A far-off sound of hooves was heard. Those who never came to this place before made a few sounds of awe as dozens of deer slowly entered the clearing they were in.

"Would you guys like to play with them?"

Some time later the seven genin were scattered all over the area.

Shikamaru was leaning on a tree petting the fur of a young doe beside him, gazing at the clouds above as they wandered around the turning orange of the sky.

Ino was helping Sakura get closer to several of the deer that recognized her from her previous visits as the pinkette found out that her hair color made the animals wary of coming closer.

Chouji was eating his chips beside a shouting Kiba as Tenten attempted to ride one of the deer. The animals of course didn't let her, but the weapons mistress refused to give up on her wish of riding them.

But as for Naruto, he was playing Shougi with Shikaku. The blond wasn't really playing per-se, what he was really doing was mirroring what Arashi told him to do and trying to understand the sword spirit's tactics.

Clack. Clack. Naruto's silver general took the position of Shikaku's pawn.

"Naruto-kun, I'm sure my teammates have told you of what we know."

Naruto nodded. Clack. Clack. The general was replaced by Shikaku's rook.

"I have to also give my apologies, but I have done worse things than them."

The blond raised a brow. What was the man aiming to say?

Clack. Clack. The rook was defeated by Naruto's horse, and a check was heard through the clearing.

"I'm the one who advised the Hokage on that course of action."

Naruto froze; expression unreadable. But soon enough he made another move as Shikaku counter-attacked with a horse of his own; defending the king and opening a pathway for another rook to make a direct attack at the opponent's king.

With the resounding clack of another pawn, Naruto closed that path, allowing the movement of another general.

"It's okay, really."

Naruto's voice was soft as he replied to Shikaku's statement.

"If things didn't go the same way, then what would've happened to me by now? If I managed to survive my childhood, maybe I would've become like Konohamaru, a person never known for who he was. And even after that, would I have managed to get the Keyblade? Would I have been able to save Hayate-nii and so many others' lives?"

That general was immediately defeated by Shikaku, but that was what allowed Naruto to move just another pawn.

Just a pawn.

Promotion. Checkmate.

Shikaku smiled. It was rather poetic for the end of a Shougi match.

"I won't get angry, nor would I get sad. What I want to say is…" A soft smile formed on the blond's face. "I don't need apologies; thank you."

Shikaku took out a hand. "Good match. Another one for your inner advisor?"

Naruto's eyes turned to surprise before calming down to acceptance.

'**Really, you could never manage to get something hidden from a Nara, can't you, master?**'

* * *

An hour later, Naruto wringed out his arms, having left the Nara Complex. Like what Shikaku said, there were no conversations after that other than small talk, but there was an unspoken agreement of sometimes visiting them again and play more Shougi.

His companions other than Shikamaru had begged him to let them have one last try in flying, so he accompanied them to their homes, back-tracking their steps. After a promise to Kiba to next time visit his clan home, Naruto escorted Sakura to her home.

The pinkette smiled at him before saying goodbye, reminding him to prepare for tomorrow.

Like he would forget about that; he had Iru-nii and Yuugao-nee who made it their duty to remind him of these things…

But even while thinking that, as he flew to his house (truly something he had done much much earlier…), Naruto thought that perhaps this was his most productive day-off ever.

Not that the fact it was his first one that mattered.

* * *

**AN: There, my longest chapter EVER! 10K!**

**It's been a long while: Keyblade Statistics!**

**Shadow Dancer:**

**Melee Power: Normal**

**Magic Power: Normal**

**Type: Physical/Support**

**Affinity: Dark**

**Imbued Magic: Bind**

**Abilities: Control of Shadows – This Keyblade allows Naruto to wield shadows as his weapons. It also allows him to make portals or entrances and exits to and from the **Kage-Sekai **(Shadow World.) That world has a subjective sense of force and energy, and is available for anyone with enough mastery over shadows.**

**Author's Comment: This Keyblade would probably be a cheatcode to some of Naruto's problems as shown here (transportation). Naruto still hasn't realized the real capabilities of that world; Arashi wouldn't tell him. This Keyblade would probably be the second most powerful Keyblade Naruto would have for a while; the **Playful Trickster** remains at the top. It would also be next to the **Fading Scars** as most used Keyblade soon enough.**

**Omake? Sorry, no omake just yet! I'll edit this chapter when I release the next one so it would have its very own omake.**

**To those who were annoyed by my very annoying habit of breaking my promises, Sorry! It started this way.**

_***Middle of writing chapter, mother confiscates laptop. Author shakes his head; when would she learn?***_

"_**Hmm, what to do, what to do…"**_

_***Eyes fall to old collection of fanfics. Grin.***_

_**The next day:**_

"_**Time to write new chapter!"**_

_***30 minutes passes without a single word typed in. Author realizes his folly only after an hour after that playing the Binding of Isaac.***_

"_**Damn, killed my muse… Let's try searching for inspiration!"**_

_***Author drowns himself in Harry Potter, Pokemon, Sket Dance, Sword Art Online, Campione, Familiar of Zero, and Percy Jackson Series. Realizes a few days after that in the end, he completely lost his focus in writing the next chapter.***_

"_**DAMN!"**_

**Now, do you see my dilemma?**

**Anyways, they did help in the long run because the unholy amount of literature I've managed to engorge myself in gave me tons of ideas for my fic.**

**I now have an outline! It's 40% vague though so I can edit it a bit…**

**Now it's a matter of just writing it down.**

"_**Ooh! Look, Fairy Tail!"**_

**Lord help me, I need more focus. Hehe, Bossun's Concentration Mode. Should I buy goggles?**

***chibi Naruto appears***

'**Bad author, bad! Work on that chapter!'**

**Sorry, sorry…**

**Anyways, next chapter will arrive in a week and a half! Add or take few days…**

**Start of the Wave Arc!**


End file.
